^r 



4 



CHARITY AND THE CLERGY: 



1 %txiUm, 



A PROTESTANT CLERGYMAN, 



"NEW THEMES" CONTROVERSY; 

TOGETHER WITH 

SUNDRY SERIOUS REFLECTIONS UPON THE RELIGIOUS PRESS, 

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES, ECCLESIASTICAL AMBITION, 

GROWTH OF MODERATISM, PROSTITUTION OF 

THE PULPIT, AND GENERAL DECAY 

OF CHRISTIANITY. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO. 

1853. 






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BR, 



PREFACE. 






The writer of these pages is not aware 
that he holds any doctrine which deserves to 
be called infidel or heretical ; but as candid 
criticism is not tolerated in our orthodox re- 
ligious periodicals (with which alone he could 
affiliate) J he feels driven to this mode of ad- 
dressing the public. He comments freely, 
and at times severely, upon the religious press 
itself; also upon theological education, the 
state of religion in the churches, and various 
clerical and ecclesiastical practices — all of 
which are regarded as needing reform. 

Few seem to perceive what appears fear- 
fully evident to the writer, that our existent 
Christianity is almost universally corrupt, 
and is becoming more so continually ; that 
unless its present tendencies be speedily re- 
versed, a state of worse than medieval dark- 
ness will soon settle upon Christendom ; not 



Xll PREFACE. 



a state of intellectual decrepitude and en- 
slavement^ but one of intellectual triumph 
and haughty independence ; not a state in 
which the Churchy like a besotted despot, 
will drag men in chain-gangs behind her 
bloody car, but one in which man will rise 
in proud supremacy, and either trample the 
Church under foot, or else spare her in Gibe- 
onite degradation, to become a "hewer of 
wood and drawer of water" about the gor- 
geous Temple of Mammon ! Or, to say the 
very least, the Church and the world will 
move on in harmony, neither disposed to as- 
sert its own peculiarities. 

It is not maintained that the work, "New 
Themes," &c., suggests the only remedy 
needed in this emergency ; others are hinted 
at; but it is maintained that perhaps the 
most crying demand of the times is for just 
such a reform as the author of "New 
Themes" and " Politics for American Chris- 
tians" indicates. It will be shown, likewise, 
that the real sentiments of that author have 
either been strangely misunderstood, or been 
wickedly misrepresented in many influential 
quarters. 



A REVIEW. 



New Themes for the Protestant Clergy, etc. By 
Stephen Colwell. Second Edition, Kevised. Phila- 
delphia: Lippincott/Grambo & Co. 1852. 

A Review, by a Layman, of a Work entitled 
"New Themes, etc.^' Philadelphia: Lippincott, 
Grambo & Co. 1852. 

Politics for American Christians. Politics op 
THE New Testament. Some Notices of a Review 
OF "New Themes, etc.'^ Philadelphia : Lippincott, 
Grambo & Co. 1852. 

SELF-COMPLACENCY. 



Eeformers have usually met with a surly 
reception at the seats of power. The com- 
fortable classes fear change^ lest their comforts 
depart. Dives^ Diotrephes and Demetrius, 
Caiaphas, Laud, and Leo X., represent classes 



14 SELF-DECEPTION. 

always existing, and always arraying them- 
selves against the Pauls, and Wickliffes, and 
Miltons, and Luthers, and Galileos, and 
Knoxes; ^.gainst the Puritans, and Protes- 
tants, and Waldenses, and other truth-j&nders 
and truth-tellers, whom after ages enshrine in 
the Temples of Love, Fame, and Gratitude. 
But many oppose Eeformers from motives 
much more innocent. They honestly love 
the present, and cannot see the truth of the 
Reformers' criticisms or proposed amend- 
ments. The world is only aggregate man, 
and what man is there that knoweth him- 
self ? The heart is deceitful above all things ; 
who can know it ? The world flatters and 
cheats itself The chief characteristic of 
every age is self-complacency. '^ Surely we 
are the people!" No doubt, Tubal-Cain 
teaching his apprentices to work in brass 
and iron, often reflected on the perfection of 
art in his age, and the " old fogyism" of the 
days of his grandfather Adam. Self-glorifica- 
tion, too, is a form of human weakness which 



INSENSIBLE SOPHISTRY. 15 

has characterized every generation^ every 
country^ every party, every sect. And more 
than this^ men are prone to identify them- 
selves with certain ideas and institutions so 
entirely^ to cluster around them such tender 
associations and sweet recollections^ that an 
intimation of imperfection in those ideas or 
institutions is instinctively resented, like an 
insult to a mother. And this is specially 
true with regard to a man's religion. He 
very properly feels the most jealous guar- 
dianship over this sacred and eternal interest, 
and very naturally identifies his interpreta- 
tion of religion with religion itself. In the 
eyes of the Pharisees of old, an attack upon 
their traditionary interpretation of Moses and 
the Prophets was impugning the authority of 
the sacred writers themselves ; or an attack 
upon the lives of them, the acknowledged 
illustrators of divine truth, was denying the 
divine origin and the sanctifying power of 
that truth. Hence, in the eye of Judaism, 
Jesus and his Apostles were infidels. And 



16 WHAT CONSTITUTES AN INFIDEL. 

SO has it ever been in the history of Chris- 
tianity ; Christians have been prone to stake 
Christianity upon their understanding and 
exemplification of it. If they understood 
the Bible to teach that the sun revolves 
around the earthy the poor Galileo who as- 
serted the contrary was a vile heretic^ if not 
a downright infidel. So of the doctrine of 
antipodes, of an old pre-adamite earth, of 
pre-existent death, and such like conflictings 
with traditional interpretations ; to assert 
them was to raise from a thousand quarters 
the cry of infidelity^ iifidelity. But when 
the people had time to reflect and examine, 
they saw that the innovators were only infi- 
del to their beloved grandmothers' explanon 
tio7i of the Bible. 

^^NEW themes" not INFIDEL. 

Knowing these characteristics of our spe- 
cies, whether out of the Church or in it, the 
author of '' New Themes" should not be sur- 



NEW THEMES NOT INFIDEL. 17 

prised (however much he may feel wounded) 
at hearing the cry of infidelity raised when 
he ventured to declare a difference between 
the Bible and the traditionary expositions of 
the Bible^ and the corresponding conduct of 
the expositors. But of all the instances re- 
corded in history^ never has that cry been so 
senseless and illiheral as in this case. The 
author himself is not prepared to justify all 
the forms of expression which he has used 
in his writings; but we say with deliberation 
that we have never read an author who 
seemed more profoundly smitten with the 
truth, and beauty, and practical value, of 
Christianity than the author of New Themes. 
We are certainly disposed to find fault with 
the grouping which he makes of its doc- 
trines, seemingly depreciating some of prime 
consequence in his zeal for those which he 
thinks have been neglected ; but that ought 
not to prejudice our minds to the fact that 
in the whole drift of his writings he is pay- 
ing the highest homage to Christianity. He 

2^ 



18 A GREAT MISSING ELEMENT. 

has done what few others have ever done — 
cast the entire Ixodes of the world for time 
and for eternity upon Christ and his teach- 
ings. 

And he does this in such a way as ought 
not to oJQfend the most rigid orthodoxy. For 
he not only acknowledges the truth of Chris- 
tianity^ but he acknowledges the truth of the 
orthodox interpretations of it. Not a single 
item in the Confession of Faith or the Thirty- 
Nine Articles does he dissent from. He af- 
firms only their incompleteness. He finds in 
them all a missing element — one which is 
largely present in the Bible. Why should 
an attempt to enthrone that element as high 
in the creed as it is enthroned in the Bible, 
be met by such a storm of orthodox frowns 
as have been visited upon the head of poor 
New Themes ? 

It is no New Theme to the pulpit to dis- 
course of the imperfection of all human per- 
formances. It is certainly a favourite theme, 
and a very proper one. Now though Chris- 



CREEDS WITHOUT CHARITY. 19 

tianity is divine^ creeds are human. It is 
not often we hear men say that the Prayer- 
Book is inspired : or that the Confession of 
Faith is other than a human compilation. 
Then why should it be considered a strange 
or sacrilegious thing for a Christian man to 
assert the existence of such imperfections in 
these works of men ? And when he does as- 
sert it^ though in a blunt style^ would it not 
be philosophical (we had almost said chari- 
table), in those who do not like the assertion, 
to spend a little strength in disproving it, in- 
stead of devoting the whole of it to belabour- 
ing the man who made the assertion ? 

WHERE ARE THE CREEDS WITH CHARITY? 

The author says that charity does not occu- 
py a prominent place in the creeds of the 
churches. Quantities of ink have been spent 
by adverse reviewers in lashing the author, 
but not a drop that we know of in disproving 
the charge. Who has given us the page or 



20 THE CHARGE NOT ANSWERED. 

the line in any creed^ catechism^ or set of 
articles^ where charity is asserted, explained, 
or enforced as a leading Christian duty ? The 
Bible says, ^^ Faith, hope, and charity — the 
greatest of these is charity T Who, of all these 
reviewers, has shown any transcript of Chris- 
tian doctrine which in its matter or propor- 
tion approximates to this text ? Mr. "^ Lay- 
man," who wrapped around his red right 
hand all the lightnings that had been forged 
in a hundred places against Mr. " New 
Themes," and who, with great research into 
old catalogues and new temperance docu- 
ments, undertook with combined satire and 
pedantry to annihilate his opponent — has 
given us 139 pages of answer, without touch- 
ing the gravamen of the book he was review- 
ing. The first of the three " New Themes" 
named in the very title page of the book was 
" Creeds without Charity." The only valid 
reply that '^ Layman" could have made to 
that most important charge, would have been 
to bring forth the '^ creeds" that have " clia- 



A MOST VITAL POINT. 21 

rity." We search in vain^ among»the various 
learned quotations of " Layman/' for any ar- 
ray of charity-breathing creeds. 

This point was vital, because if it be as is 
charged, then we cannot expect to find cha- 
rity predominant in Christian character. It 
would be contrary to all philosophy, experi- 
ence, and religion, to assert that men are batter 
than their creeds.. The very reverse is true. 
Men's beliefs are uniformly in advance of 
their doings. '^ What I would, that I do not : 
and what I would not, that I do," is the lan- 
guage of every honest heart, and the teach- 
ing of all history. Grant then to the author, 
as has been virtually done, that there is a sad 
deficiency of charity in church creeds, and 
you give him an overwhelming a priori argu- 
ment, to prove that a deficiency at least 
equally great exists in the practice of 
churches and church members. 

There is, indeed, a sense in which Christians 
are actually better than their " creeds," taking 
the word technically ; but it is because they 



22 BIBLE ACCUSATIONS. 

are forced 4o see and believe things in the 
Bible^ which are omitted from their formal 
creeds. Hence the general principle asserted 
remains true. And it is still the case that 
the formal creed instrumentally gives the 
general shape to the character. 

But apart from this^ why should Christian 
men^ whether in the pulpit or out of it^ take 
offence because imperfections are charged upon 
their lives. This charge^ instead of impugning 
the truth of the Bible^ only confirms it. The 
Bible makes worse charges upon human na- 
ture^ and even upon professors of religion^ than 
the author does. It does so directly — it does 
so historically — it does so prophetically — it 
does so upon the Jewish church, and upon the 
Christian churches. The Isaiahs and the 
Jeremiahs spoke in no measured terms of the 
unfaithfulness of the ancient people of God. 
And the New Testament writers are equally 
severe upon the churches of Corinth and Ga- 
latia, Ephesus, Laodicea, Sardis, and Smyr- 
na. And if it were a fact, and an openly 



TOTAL DEPRAVITY AND SINLESS PERFECTION. 23 

exposed fact^ th^t very great imperfections 
existed in these churches under the eye of 
the ApostleS; why should the churches of 
America and England bristle up with such an 
air of insulted innocence^ when charges far 
less heinous are made against them ! Has the 
venerable doctrine of ^^ Total Depravity" given 
way in these latter times to that of "^ Sinless 
Perfection ?" It is to be feared that such a 
change^ either in doctrine or in fact^ would 
be far more trying to the evidences of Chris- 
tianity than the honest admission that even 
yet the Israel of God has reason for deep 
humiliation. 

Not to study the probabilities in favour of 
the charge against Christians in the light of 
prophecies about ^^ wolves in sheep's cloth- 
ing/' and many mysterious iniquities that 
even in the Apostolic age were burying their 
seed in the Church to bring forth fruit in 
after times ; nor to study them in the light of 
history^ whose dark pages shock every reader; 
nor at present in the light of an extended 



24 LITERATURE OF CHARITY. 

observation^ it were enough to study these 
probabihties in the light of those sincere peni- 
tent confessions made before God in prayer. 
Listen to the heart-breaking acknowledg- 
ments of a David^ a Paul, an Augustin, a 
Calvin, a Baxter, a Chalmers — ministers and 
people, in their writings, in the church, in 
the closet — and they all acknowledge an ha- 
bitual dereliction far greater than is here 
charged upon them. Then why repel him 
who rebukes you for good ! 

WHERE IS THE LITERATURE ON CHARITY? 

The author of ^^New Themes" likewise 
charges a deficiency in our religious litera- 
ture, corresponding to that existing in the 
creeds and lives of Christians. If the charge 
be true in the other features of religious 
development, we must expect to find the 
same lack in everything. And the very 
best evidence that the charge is true, lies in 
the miserable attempts which have been 



OTHER LITERATURE ABUNDANT. 25 

made to answer it. The most formal of 
these attempts is found in the erudite pages 
of our friend '^ A Layman." The only 
answer he gives to the authors assertion 
that we have not an able literature on 
Charity^ is a quotation of the titles of a 
parcel of old books^ the most of them writ- 
ten from one to two hundred years ago^ and 
but one of them within the present century. 
Why surely^ the subject cannot be a very 
popular onCp or we should have had at least 
two works on it in our language^ in the last 
half century — a period of unparalleled intel- 
lectual and literary activity, a period within 
which whole cargoes of books have been 
written on faith, and baptism, and apostoli- 
cal succession, and all the common themes 
of dogmatic theology, and inter-denomina- 
tional dispute. What! with all the enor- 
mous outpouring of religious literature from 
Tract Societies, and Sunday School Unions, 
and Baptist Boards, and Presbyterian Boards, 
and Methodist Book Concerns, and Episco- 



26 DRYASDUST. 

pal Societies;, and innumerable private pub- 
lishing houses, can but one book be found 
on Chptrity, the production of this century 
and that written only five years after its 
commencement! As our learned "Lay- 
man" has evidently searched the catalogues, 
we must conclude that Charity has not 
received a very large share of attention. 

But it might be thought that perhaps the 
present generation are so wrapt up in the 
sweet meditations of Byfield, and Rigge, 
and Masham, and Tutty, and Hussey, and 
the other ancient and venerable authors 
whom he mentions, that they feel the sub- 
ject to be exhausted, and nothing more to 
be needed. But alas ! we fear that we 
should have to search scores of Christian 
libraries, and many Christian publishing 
houses, before we should find a single one 
of the volumes he mentions. The truth is, 
the books mentioned are chiefly theological 
fossils^ which are neither living themselves 
nor the representatives of living works. 



MISERABLE SOPHISTRY. 27 

But the parading of this catalogue is such 
a miserable subterfuge that we cannot dis- 
miss it without showing that the books 
mentioned are not on the subject in hand. 

The author of ^^New Themes/' in the 
appendix of his last publication^ exposes 
this fact; but we would add a few words on 
this point. 

Without insisting upon the ordinary En- 
glish meaning of the word "^^ charity/' we 
will allow "^^ Layman" to take it in the 
broad sense of Love. Indeed we believe 
the latter is the true scriptural meaning 
of the term. We will then suppose our 
author to declare that there is no able and 
thorough treatise on Christian Love in the 
English language. ^^ Layman" replies to 
this by quoting works on God's love to 
man^ and man's love to God! This answer 
would be paralleled by quoting treatises on 
the Tariff; in answer to a call for an able 
and complete work on Political Economy. 
The tariff is a division of political economy, 



28 THE BOOK NOT IX EXISTENCE. 

but it is not political economy. And so is 
love to God a part of the exercise of 
charity, but it is not charity. Love is a 
universal principle applicable to all sentient 
beinsrs in all their relations, and it is child- 
ish to quote treatises on particular exercises 
of that principle or aflection as exhaustive 
discussions of the whole subject. 

^Ye are prepared fully to second the affir- 
mation that no able and full discussion of 
the subject of charity exists in the English 
language ; and no man need deny the affir- 
mation until he can produce the work. 
The sermons of Butler on -'Love God with 
all thy hearty and thy neighbour as thyself/' 
the fraormentarv work of Dr. Chalmers on 
Moral Philosophy, and the old lectures of 
Edwards, lately given to the public for the 
first time, contaip perhaps the ablest dis- 
cussions we have of this subject ; but no one 
who has meditated much upon the subject, 
will agree that even these great and highly 
philosophical divines have brought it out in 



AUTHOR CRITICISED. 29 

all its fulness. And to speak our whole 
thought, we do not believe the heavenly 
theme can ever expand to its full propor- 
tion in any mind, whilst the atmosphere of 
Christendom remains so unhealthy as it 
now is, and has long been. 

It is to be regretted that our author, in his 
effort to give point to his title-page, should 
have chosen such grating expressions as 
" Creeds without charity ;" " Theology with- 
out humanity ;" " Protestantism without 
Christianity." They are not only wounding, 
but they are not true in the form in which 
they are written, although true in the sense 
in which he seems to have meant them. We 
see in the Protestant world much cfharity 
(though little in proportion to what is re- 
quired) ; we see much Christian humanity, 
and yet more of Christianity viewed in its 
primary character as the means of salvation. 
And in all our zeal for charity and humanity 
in our characters and lives on earth, we should 
still remember that Christianity has far more 



30 MEANING OF AUTHOR. 

direct and important reference to eternity 
than to time. And yet^ the exercise of 
charity in our human relations furnishes the 
highest evidence of a heavenly character, 
and contributes most of all other means to 
persuade men to embrace the plan of salva- 
tion through Christ. 

The meaning of the author seems to be 
that the element of charity shown to be 
wanting in our creeds is equally wanting in 
all the symbols and peculiar standards and 
manifestations of Protestantism, as such. He 
here views Protestantism, not only or chiefly 
in its members, but likewise in its principles. 
Those principles are found in protests, cove- 
nants, constitutions, creeds, catechisms, ec- 
clesiastical acts, &c. He does not mean to 
contrast Eomanism with Protestantism, un- 
favourably to the latter ; on the contrary, he 
shows in the body of his work that he con- 
siders Romanism hopelessly corrupt, and con- 
siders Protestantism pure and right as far as 
it goes, and as lacking but the one element 



CREEDS REHEARSED. 31 

to identify it with Christianity. If^ then, 
Protestantism has in her standards the ele- 
ment spoken of, why is it not produced or 
pointed out? Look over the authoritative 
acts and doings of the Dutch, German, Swiss, 
English, Scotch, and American Protestant 
churches, and show us where any prominence 
is given to the inculcation of an earnest, 
hearty humanity. It is truly amazing to ob- 
serve how little Christ-like philanthropy is 
discoverable among the official acts of our 
beloved Protestant churches. 

When we go into our Bodies of Divinity 
and Theological Seminaries, are we there re- 
freshed by the spirit so lacking elsewherq? 
We fear that there is a distressing consis- 
tency there with the scenes without. It will 
be remembered that Christ resolved all moral 
and religious duties into love. Do our theo- 
logical writers and teachers develope their 
theology from this point, or do they even de- 
vote a single lecture to the subject? We 
have examined many ponderous systems of 



32 DIVINITY LECTURES. 

divinity, and listened to courses of theologi- 
cal lectures, and we have yet to meet with 
even the pretence of a presentation of the 
subject. Doctrines of theology are piled up 
with Titanic hands, mountain upon moun- 
tain, along the rugged and tangled sides of 
which men are called to climb to the gates 
of Heaven; but they nowhere insist upon 
the climbers loving and helping one another 
as they toil up the laborious steep. If they 
do, where is the evidence of it ? Show us 
in Knapp, or Watson, or Hill, or Dick, or 
any other standard theologian, any more than 
partial and occasional allusions to the spirit 
of love to man, which is so largely insisted 
on in the New Testament. You may say 
that creeds, and theological systems, and Pro- 
testantism, were meant to express only our 
relations to God, and therefore love to man 
was not an appropriate part of those stand- 
ards. To put in such a plea is to admit all 
the author charges ; and here the discussion 
might end, unless we were prepared to dis- 



CHARITY OUGHT TO BE THERE. 33 

CUSS a different question^ viz.^ whether chari- 
ty or love oiiglit to he there. And it would 
not require a long examination to make it 
clear that since more than one-half of the 

, Decalogue is taken up with the duties of man 
to man while on earth ; since the ultimate 

f attainment of religion is love ; since Christ 
said that love to man was half the sum of 
human duty ; since Paul declares love to be 
superior to faith ; since John says '^ If any 
man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, 
he is a liar ;" indeed, since the example of 
Christ and the injunctions of Scripture so 
largely insist upon universal charity, surely 
the legs of Christianity are not equal if this 
half of Christian duties is not prominently 
embodied in all the standard teachings of 
the church. 

In our hasty forms of expression we fear 
it may be thought that we make a di- 
vorce between what we call the divftiity and 
the humanity of Christianity. No such 
meaning is intended. The whole, properly 



34 MENTAL PHILOSOPHY AT FAULT. 

speaking, belongs to the department of divinity 
— divinity in its human relations and duties. 
A divinity developed from the love of God 
spreads itself over all man's being and doing. 
All is to be done to the glory of God. The 
most trivial of human actions have their 
place in divinity. And all the Scriptural 
inculcations about charity may fairly have 
their place in every system of theology. The 
base of the theological pyramid should be 
commensurate with the four corners of the 
earth. 



MENTAL PHILOSOPHY WRONG ON CHARITY. 

We are profoundly convinced that a great 
and delightful revolution is ere long coming 
to pass in our world of religious ideas and 
habits. The truth already expressed will re- 
main unshaken, but over it all will be thrown 
a sweet ^ight, like the rosy tint of evening 
bathing the sides of the granite mountains. 
This suppression of the importance and wide 



WRONG POPULAR IDEAS. 35 

influence of love has been seen in our mental 
philosophy J and felt in our ordinary ideas 
of mental character. The word ^^ amia- 
ble" is regarded almost as a term of reproach. 
Intellect is exalted far above feeling in the 
common estimation of men. In all this we 
see the same poor appreciation of love that 
has been shown to exist elsewhere. Our phi- 
losophy and our public sentiment must be 
reversed before they accord with truth and 
Scripture, and with the best interests of the 
race. Men must yet see that whilst a heart 
without a head is bad enough^ a head with- 
out a heart is infinitely worse. The philoso- 
pher will yet admit that the emotional na- 
ture of man is superior to the intellectual. 
Such is the view taken by Chalmers, and we 
do not wonder at the crowd and excitement 
in the halls of St. Andrew's, when the frigid 
metaphysics of the schools came forth with 
the warm blood of exuberant emotion career- 
ing through its veins. It must be manifest 
to him who will consider it, that this philoso- 



36 CHARITY THE SUxM OF RELIGION. 

phy accords with what may be called the 
metaphysics of the Bible. Eeligion certainly 
resides in the highest region of man's nature ; 
and religion is a thing o^ emotion chiefly. Kead 
Edwards on the Affections^ if you would see 
how the essence of religion resolves itself into 
a set of emotions. Faith is indeed strictly an 
intellectual act. But faith is only a means 
to an end. '' Faith loorhs hy love and purifies 
the heart r The characteristics of true piety 
are hope^ fear^ joy^, love^ forbearance^ forgive- 
ness^ sorrow for sin, desire for holiness — all 
tempers^ or feelings^ or emotions. And of all 
emotions love is the parent and the sum ; for 
according to these various exercises of love 
do the other emotions come into existence. 
Nothing, however, is more confirmatory of 
this philosophy than the fact that by the in- 
spired writers the Deity is designated by an 
emotion. "God is love.'' Can we believe that 
an inferior element of the divine constitution 
would have been selected as expressing the 
sum of tha divine character ! The Scripture 



TEMPORAL INTERESTS OF THE POOR. 37 

philosophy evidently teaches that the region 
of love is the highest heaven of being. And 
from this point we might bear down upon 
man individually^ and in all his relations^ de- 
monstrating that the ultima thule toward 
which the race even here should be pressings 
is the state of perfect charity^ or love in 
each and all of its possible applications ; and 
that there can be no state of millennial 
blessedness on earth until some approxima- 
tion to this state is reached. Indeed^ it is 
just from this quarter the millenium will 
come ! 

TEMPORAL INTERESTS OF THE POOR MUST BE 
ATTENDED TO FIRST. 

We fully acknowledge the infinite supe- 
riority of the concerns of eternity over that 
of time^ but this should not lead us to forget 
that whilst each individual man stays but a 
brief period upon earthy the race abides untold 
centuries. And that he who labours to ame- 

4 



38 TEMPORAL INTERESTS PERMANENT. 

liorate the temporal condition of man^ is pro- 
moting an interest which runs an indefinite 
race with the ages of eternity itself Vast, 
wide and abiding are the interests of humanity 
on earthy though every man's life be as the 
morning cloud and the early dew : and whilst 
the labourers soon '^ rest from their labours, 
yet their works do follow them ;" being dead 
they yet speak. Then surely he is engaged 
in a noble labour^, who is working for even 
the temporal comfort and happiness of the 
untold generations yet to come, and gradu- 
ally to crowd and jostle one another more and 
more upon the surface of our globe. How 
wretched then their lot if love do not reign 
in all their intercourse with each other. 

But it is a yet more important view that 
the spiritual and eternal interests of men 
are as much involved in this subject as 
their temporal. It is not difficult to see 
that a process of supply and education is 
necessary before the abjectly poor are acces- 
sible to the direct appeals of religion. The 



LOAVES AND FISHES FIRST. 39 

remark that persons in humble life more 
promptly embrace^ and more faithfully cling 
to religion^ does not in the first instance 
apply to the most suffering class. The de- 
privation^ ignorance^ uncleanness^, and uni- 
versal wretchedness among this class, tend 
to stupify and deprave their minds, to pro- 
duce in them an almost total moral reckless- 
ness, so that the direct calls of the Gospel 
would fall unheeded upon their ears. Gaunt 
hunger has no heart for anything but bread. 
Inviting them to church should be the 
second step in their salvation. If you make 
it the first, you fail. What do such crea- 
tures care for church ! What taste have 
such debased and wretched creatures for 
spiritual subjects. The problem of the next 
day's existence on earth cannot be tiirust 
aside for any consideration lying beyond 
that. And though Bibles and tracts be 
scattered all over their dens of misery, the 
word of eternal life will be only like pearls 
before swine. You must give food to the 
hungry, and raiment to the naked, and 



40 CHRISTIANITY SECULARIZED. 

work to the strongs and education to the 
ignorant^ in a word^ you must elevate the 
whole lower stratum of society^ or it will be 
one vast and unbroken possession of the 
great enemy of souls. 



THE WORLD GAINING ON THE CHURCH. 

And the tone and labours of charity are 
as much needed to assist in the salvation of 
men in the highest and middling classes, as 
in the lowest. It is appalling to think how 
slowly Christianity makes its way among 
men. It admits of a doubt whether there 
are more professing Christians on earth 
now than there were a thousand years ago. 
It is a manifest fact that Christianity has 
wofully failed to keep pace with the growth 
of the earth's population. The race of man 
is immeasurably further from a universal 
evangelization than it was in the days of 
Constantine. This is a most distressing 
fact, and yet it ought to be known, so that 
we may cast about for the barrier which has 



POWER OF LOVE. 41 

impeded its progress. We do not affirm 
that the whole cause has lain in a want of 
charity in the church ; but is there not a suf- 
ficient reason to suppose that this cause has 
been largely concerned in the result^ when we 
see how this great and subduing element in 
religion has been omitted? Supposing that 
the views which have been expressed in 
this article, are any approximation to the 
truth, can we be surprised that men have 
been repelled from Christianity ? It is scarce- 
ly possible to exaggerate the power of love 
over the human heart; and had an ardent 
Christian love gone forth from every Chris- 
tian bosom, and breathed itself through all 
the avenues of human action, surely its pre- 
dominance in the world would have been 
much greater than has been the case. Hu- 
manly speaking, the victorious power of 
Christianity is gone when you present her 
to the world a mere "theological skeleton." 
Even in this our Christian land, in which 
evangelical religion has in the last half cen- 

4* 



42 THE WORLD CONVERTING THE CHURCH. 

tury really gained upon the population in 
the ratio of 10 to 4 i^ there are still but 
3,000,000 church members out of 25,000,000 
of souls; about one-eighth of the population. 
We have no means of ascertaining the num- 
ber of church goers ; but we have reason to 
fear that over one-half of our whole popula- 
tion rarely, and many of them never, enter 
the house of God. And the vast majority of 
those who attend the churches are not influ- 
enced by a religious motive. Parental au- 
thority brings the young, who, by dint of 
long training, are in most cases made per- 
manent occupants of the pew, and yet very 
many become tired and give up their early 
habits. Odd or eloquent preachers attract 
some ; others go for the mere curiosity and 
conceit and amusement, which are excited 
by all large assemblies. A large class go 
merely to be fashionable; especially those 
who are struggling upward in society, and 
wishing to bring themselves into notice. 
Men of business and of the learned profes- 



IRRELIGIOUS CHURCH-GOING. 43 

sion^ and candidates for office^ often frequent 
churches on the same principle on which 
they put their cards in the newspapers^, and 
-in order to establish confidence^ and appeal 
to congregational esprit du corps. It is 
sickening to think what infernal motives 
bring large numbers of people to our 
churches. True^ they may receive good. 
But in most of such cases^ they are not 
under a truly religious influence at all. 
Reduce our congregations to the number of 
those who are impelled by a religious influ- 
ence^ and ^Hhe beggarly account of empty 
boxes/' would be far more appalling than it 
now is in most of our churches. 

NoWj scarcely a more deeply serious ques- 
tion could be asked than^ Why has Chris- 
tianity so little attractive power in the commu- 
nity? Has it no innate grace and winning 
sweetness^ that we must account for its un- 
popular condition by ascribing it to the dearth 
of extraordinary supernatural influences? 
Such influences are admitted to be indispen- 



44 CORRUPTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. 

sable in the conversion of men, but we fully 
believe that there is an organic force in 
Christianity, which, if embodied in the lives 
of Christians and the services of Christian 
Churches, would lead the multitudes in her 
train by an irresistible fascination, such as 
attracted the vast multitudes to listen to the 
discourses of Christ. 

The fact is, that our existent Christianity, 
too careless of the interests of humanity, for- 
getful of her true mission to earth, has per- 
mitted herself to become fearfully secularized, 
and hence hampered and hardened. In one 
quarter it is a mere department of a godless 
government; in another, a thing of altars 
and surplices and stained glass windows ; in 
another, a thing of philosophical speculation ; 
in another, a thing of intellectual orthodoxy ; 
in another, a mere instrument for some low, 
ulterior end. Look, too, at one of our cities, 
and instead of seeing each denomination 
sending its influence through all ranks of 
society, especially solicitous to do good among 



ECCLESIASTICAL STRATIFICATION. 45 

the poor^ we see the denominations lying in 
social layers, all indeed scrambling upward, 
but yet Ivino; like the horizontal strata in a 
conical mountain; and although the sects 
may dispose themselves like the contents of 
John Bull's tumbler of beer, '^ froth on the 
top, dregs in the bottom, but excellent in the 
middle,'' yet a Christianity which is a re- 
specter of persons is not like its divine Au- 
thor. When one sees this social pyramid of 
sects ; when he sees the pyramid in church 
buildings, the pyramid of seats inside of the 
churches, the summit in the centre of the 
middle aisle, and falling off to the walls in 
every direction ; when he hears so much of 
pew-rents and ground-rents, and heavy debts, 
and sees so much '- lust of the eye and pride 
of life" in the public exhibition which Chris- 
tianity makes of herself before the world — 
so much reaching upward and so little reach- 
ing downward — so much provision for the 
rich and so little for the poor ; in plain terms, 
so much that is proud, and ambitious, and 



46 CHURCH QUARRELLING. 

commercial^ and vain — so much that is 
"^ worldly, sensual and devilish/' he is ready 
to doubt whether, if the Son of Man should 
now appear, he would find faith on the earth 
at all. And what work could be more 
pleasing to an enemy of Christianity than to 
trace the early history of the various con- 
gregations in one of our large cities — to see 
what unchristian motives were at the bottom 
of the various church extension enterprises 
— the private jealousies, animosities, revenge, 
and open altercations, which drew off indi- 
viduals and parties to engage in the scheme 
of a new church — and were he to penetrate 
into the miserable petty envyings, severities, 
slanderings, bickerings, and utter want of 
general affection — were he to study social dif- 
ferences carried out in full among members 
of the same church — were he to learn of per- 
sons worshipping for years in a church with- 
out ever receiving the slightest notice from 
any member of the congregation — were he to 
see persons repelled by church authorities be- 



CHURCH OP ENGLAND. 47 

cause such as they were not wanted in a con- 
cern of that style — were he to listen to the 
gossip of societies and pious tea-drinkings — 
and add such observations as these to the 
more patent and painful exhibitions of dhurch 
courts and open ecclesiastical quarrels of all 
kinds^ not forgetting the individual lives of 
Christians at their business — " Oh, that mine 
enemy might write a book/' should be the last 
prayer the Church should offer, unless really 
smitten with a desire to improve her charac- 
ter under the rod. 

The great majority of these evils would be 
directly removed by the upspringing and out- 
going of a full Christian love — and all of them 
removed indirectly. 

CORRUPTIONS IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 

'' A Layman" seems to take special offence 
at the animadversions of the author of " New 
Themes" upon the government and Church 
of England, for their inhuman treatment of 



48 ENGLISH POOR LAWS. 

the poor. Were we even sufficiently ac- 
quainted with the intricacies of the English 
poor law system, to venture upon a discus- 
sion of the subject, we should deem it entire- 
ly unnecessary to do so after the masterly 
exposure of the errors and ignorance of 
" Layman," which our author has given in 
the Appendix of his last publication. If 
there be any philosophy in the proverb, that 
" the burnt child fears the fire," we shrewdly^ 
suspect that, ere this, Mr. '^ Layman" has 
prudently concluded to let the " English poor 
laws" alone hereafter — at least until he has 
studied them in some other light than 
" Wades Britisli History T 

But we think that our conservative friend 
has equally failed in his general defence of the 
English Church. It seems a pity to disturb 
the profound and unmingled reverence he 
manifestly feels for all that belongs to the 
Established Church of England, or to hint 
our suspicions as to the impelling motive, 
which led to " A Review." 



REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 49 

But after all that has now been said upon 
this subject, there is a call for yet more, 
until the " truth stands confessed." 

Every man of tolerable intelligence knows 
that the Eeformation in England, as compared 
with what it was in other countries, was a 
mere private and political farce. Many true, 
God-fearing, and Bible-loving people, were 
indeed scattered among the masses in the 
country, but the leaders in the movement 
generally had very different motives from 
those which moved in the hearts of pious and 
honest Protestants. Henry VIII., the most 
beastly of all the vile herd of kings, declared 
for Protestantism simply because of a quar- 
rel with the Pope, about his putting away 
Queen Catherine, and marrying Anne Bo- 
leyn. And a leading object Henry had in 
confiscating the vast possessions of the mo- 
nasteries, was to get means to buy over the 
clergy and the aristocracy to his cause, and 
induce them to declare for an independent 
church, with himself as head or pope ! There 



50 HENRY yill. AND HIS CHURCH. 

had grown up so much Protestant feeling in 
the country, that he was compelled to modify 
the church ; and along with his counsellors he 
succeeded in tinkering up a sort of compromise 
concern, which was meant to satisfy all, from 
the veriest Protestant to the extremist Pa- 
pist. And now to give weight and eclat to 
his newly-born ecclesiastical hybrid, he be- 
stowed upon it the most of the monastic 
wealth, which was supposed to be about one- 
third of the whole wealth of the kingdom ! 
For even the portion that was given to the 
laity was in connexion with the church ; from 
which arose the monstrous system of lay- 
tithes, patronage, &c., which has been so cor- 
rupting in its influence upon the English 
Church. The body of this wealth the clergy 
have managed to keep through all the vicis- 
situdes in the government. And this wealth 
not only was a wholesale robber}^ of the poor 
in the first instance, but has been a con- 
stant incubus upon the piety of the church 
ever since. The clergy have always been 



QUEEN MARY's REACTION. 51 

bought and sold by this money. Henry VIII. 
bought them with it from Rome^ and made 
them go into ecstasies over his new mongrel 
church, with its mongrel " Prayer-Book/' 
which, by an Act of Parliament, was declared 
to have been compiled by '^ the aid of the 
Holy Ghost." But, in a few short years, 
Queen Mary, the Papist, ascended the throne, 
and announced her intention of destroying 
her father's pet, and bringing back Popery full- 
fledged and complete. The ecclesiastical con- 
vocation at once met, and agreed to renounce 
their Protestantism, confess their great sin of 
schism, beg absolution from the Pope, say 
mass, do penance, say anything, do anything, 
fling away the inspired Prayer-Book, and 
become the truest and faithfullest of all the 
subjects of the Pope — if — if — if what ? if the 
Queen and the Pope would only allow them 
to retain — the Bible ? No ! their consciences ? 
No — but their money ; their vast property in 
land and tithes^ which had been filched from 



52 QUEEN Elizabeth's return. 

the poor ! — A precious set of Apostolic suc- 
cessors those ! 

But alas^ alas^ for the penitent reformers 
— ere they had fairly got sober after their 
first carouse. Queen Elizabeth ascended the 
throne, and because the Pope called her a 
bastard, she flouted the authority of the 
blundering ^(xpa, and resolved to turn Pro- 
testant, and reinstate the hybrid of other days. 
And now the clergy and aristocracy who had 
sold themselves twice before must sell them- 
selves again, or lose their plunder ! But 
they promptly wheeled into line : and the 
gambling, drinking, and fox-hunting went on 
as before. It need scarcely be said that there 
were many truly excellent and evangelical 
men within the pale of the English Church, 
who protested against many of these merce- 
nary and unprincipled proceedings ; but they 
were not heard any more than they were in 
their protest against the Popish doctrines, 
rites, and usages which were retained even in 
the Protestant Church of Elizabeth. Thus 



CHURCH AND STATE. 53 

has God; in his providence, frowned upon this 
gigantic fraud on helpless and suffering hu- 
manity. He gave them what they sought — 
riches — but with it, ^^he sent leanness on 
their souls/' '' He cursed their blessings." 

We could scarcely expect any other result, 
since the Church thus abjectly sold herself to 
the State. 

At this day the Church of England is 
scarcely more than one of the departments 
of State. The prelates and pastors of that 
Church, even in the discharge of their most 
sacred functions, are the mere vicars and 
delegates of the supreme civil magistrate. 
To quote the words of a British writer : 
" Not one rite even the most trivial can they 
alter, not one canon, however necessary, 
can they pass, not one error, however gross, 
can they reform, not one omission, even the 
most important, can they supply. The civil 
magistrate enacts the creed they are bound 
to profess and inculcate, frames the prayers 
which they must offer at the throne of God, 

5^ 



54 STATE THE SUPERIOR. 

prescribes in number and form the sacra- 
ments they must administer^ arranges the 
rites and vestments they must use, down 
to the colour, shape, and stuJBF of a cap or 
tunic, and takes discipline altogether out 
of their hand. The parish priest has no 
authority to exclude the most profligate sin- 
ner from communion : the lordliest prelate 
and primate cannot excommunicate the 
most abandoned sinner, or suspend the most 
immoral ecclesiastic from his functions; and 
should either the priest or the prelate 
attempt to exercise the discipline prescribed 
by our Lord Jesus in his house, he will 
speedily be made to understand by the 
terrors of a prcemunire^ or the experience of 
a prison that he is not appointed in the 
Church of England to administer the laws 
of Christ, but the statutes of the imperial 
Parliament, or the injunctions of the crown." 
Let it be remembered, in addition to this, 
that the only qualifications required for 
church membership, are baptism, and reci- 



EVIL INFLUENCES ON THE CLERGY. 55 

tation of the creed and catechism; and for 
entering the mmistry^ a decent morality^ 
along with subscription to the formularies ; 
and of course^ where there are so many rich 
livings in the gift of a proud and worldly 
aristocracy, multitudes of young relations 
who are pushed for a profession, crowd into 
the ministry, the only necessary duties of 
which are a routine of written forms and an 
occasional short essay, which may be pur- 
chased of the booksellers, all nicely done 
up in manuscript, and tied with a ribbon. 
Indeed the strong and numerous adverse 
influences bearing upon the Anglican clergy 
create a sort of moral fatality against their 
purity and zeal. In many, very many indi- 
vidual cases, the power of grace in the heart 
has triumphed over these fearful influences ; 
but when we remember how independent 
the pastor is of his people, his legally 
secured income, the all-pervading influence 
of the State, the many restrictions upon ear- 
nest Christian zeal, with unrestricted liberty 



56 LOOSE CLERICAL CHARACTER. 

to be indolent^ and dependence upon ungodly 
patrons, we must think the English clergy 
to be something more than human, to 
possess an apostolic spirit and eflSciency in 
their labours. An English clergyman ^^may 
be ignorant and idle, he may be a sports- 
man and a card-player, he may be glutton- 
ous and fond of wine, he may be proud and 
quarrelsome, he may be a flatterer and a 
parasite, he may be a hater of good men, 
and even covertly vicious, and yet within 
the intrenchments of his freehold, may bid 
defiance to the world's contempt and anger, 
as a feudal baron, from the inaccessible 
heights of his castled rock, hurled his de- 
fiance upon his beleaguering foes." With 
everything to tempt him to idleness and 
hypocrisy, to lead him to court the rich 
and despise the poor, under the constant 
pressure of an unyielding network of pre- 
scribed formularies which tend to repress 
thought, to chill emotion and baffle zeal, 
how could he bear a character very difie- 



NORTH BRITISH ON ENGLISH CLERGY. 57 

rent from that depicted by the author of 
^^New Themes?" 

A late number of the North British 
Review^ gives us a picture of the common 
life of an Anglican minister in a country 
parish. 

^^Here is a little outline (says the Re- 
viewer)^ sketched by the writer of Gilbert 
Arnold^ of one type of the English clergy- 
man^ and not, we fear, a very uncommon 
one in the south. 

^^ Before the advent of the Arnolds, the 
parish had been much neglected. The pre- 
vious incumbent was a rich man, who 
might have done great things for the poor. 
But having the power, he had not the will. 
He drove through the village, sometimes, in 
his high double-bodied, well-horsed phaeton, 
from which his liveried servant descended 
to deliver a message at the clerk's door; but 
the poor people said of him that he never 
entered their cottages, even to ask if there 



58 NORTH BRITISH. 

was a Bible on their shelves." (Gilbert 
Arnold.) 

" Such a man marches with a stately for- 
mality along the high road of clerical life, 
as though he hadbecome a ^successor of 
the Apostles/ only to preach a dull sermon 
once a week out of a wooden box, and per- 
haps to study church architecture. It is, 
indeed, as the author of ' Friends in Goun- 
ciV says, ^past melancholy and verging on 
despair.' 

^^ Meanwhile it is past melancholy and 
verges on despair to reflect what is going on 
amongst ministers of religion, who are often 
too intent upon the fopperies of religion, 
to have heart and time for the substantial 
work intrusted to them — immersed in heart- 
breaking trash from which no sect is free : 
for here are fopperies of discipline, there are 
fopperies of doctrine (still more dangerous, as 
it seems to me). And yet are these words 
resounding in their ears, ' Pure religion and 
undefiled is this, to visit the fatherless and 



YET DARKER SHADES. 59 

widows in their affliction^ and to keep one's- 
self unspotted from the world/ 

'' The Anglican ministry/' (continues the 
N. British/j ^^ are^ for the most part^ very cold 
and formal — much given to descant upon cer- 
tain set themes in a hard;, didactic manner, and 
never reaching the hearts of their congrega- 
tions. * ^ ^ It would often seem as though 
the preacher had no other object than to ac- 
quit himself of certain obligations imposed 
upon him J as the condition of his being al- 
lowed annually, certain hundreds of the pa- 
rochial money. A fixed minimum of work is 
to be got through. It does not much matter 
how. The Sunday duties are supposed to be 
the duties of the week — the pulpit to be the 
limit of the sphere of ministerial obligations." 
(May, 1852.) 

This is all sad enough, and yet truth re- 
quires that still darker shades be revealed. 
There is no hope of restoration until the ex- 
tent of the disease is laid bare before the world. 

Probably there has not been another ex- 



60 BAPTIST W. NOEL. 

amination into the condition of the Church 
of England^ so thorough and impartial as 
that made a few years ago^ by the Hon. and 
Rev. Baptist W. Noel. Mr. Noel was emi- 
nently qualified for the disagreeable task 
which he imposed upon himself, under a 
solemn sense of what was due to the cause of 
God and humanity. Himself a minister in 
the church, of high standing, possessed of 
genuine and unchallenged spirituality of cha- 
racter, enjoying a distinguished reputation in 
the religious and social world, having every 
external and internal motive to look kindly 
upon the church of his fathers, in which he 
had long and successfully laboured, he was 
as well qualified for his task as a man could 
possibly be. But after making a vast num- 
ber of investigations, he found its corruptions 
so great and so hopeless, that he felt himself 
driven from her communion. Mr. Noel has 
given us the results of his investigations, in 
his book on " The Union of Church and 
State ;" and these well-sustained facts, which 



ENGLISH CHURCH. 61 

he gives us^ are truly appalling ! It does not 
improve the matter to say^ that many of 
these results are attributable to the influence 
of the State upon the Church. It is still a 
Protestant Churchy and the most powerful 
and influential of all the Protestant Churches 
— and we study the character and condition 
of this church all the more intently because 
of its commanding power and influence. Its 
connexion with the State does not render its 
case a peculiar one — for the most of the Pro- 
testant churches of Europe are in the same 
condition : and it is only adding to the dis- 
grace of Protestantism to acknowledge that 
she remains contented under the yoke of the 
StatCj which is hampering and paralyzing all 
her free and progressive energies. The reader 
who feels an interest in this subject, is re- 
ferred to Mr. Noel's book, to see portrayed a 
condition of things which ought to make him 
shudder and weep. We can only state a few 
general facts. 

He represents the general character of 



62 MR. noel's statements. 

bishops, pastors, and people as bearing 
scarcely the remotest resemblance to the 
style of Christianity represented in the New 
Testament — the curates truckling and half- 
starved, whilst the bishops and most of the 
other clergy roll in wealth and repose on 
couches of luxurious indolence — expending 
far more energy in sport and in conviviality 
than in the appropriate duties of the Chris- 
tian ministry. The poor they treat with 
contemptuous indifference, leaving their men- 
tal, spiritual, and temporal condition alike 
uncared for. He admits that there are nume- 
rous individual exceptions to this, but that 
after an amount of careful examinations, 
such as probably no one had given to the 
subject before, he is forced to these general 
conclusions. Most of the partial friends of 
that church cannot be expected to admit the 
accuracy of these statements — but an impar- 
tial Christian public will be satisfied of the 
honesty and competency of the witness, and 
hence of the accuracy of his statements, espe- 



LIFELESS FORMALISM. 



cially as they are confirmed by other relia- 
ble testimony^ by history^ and by what we 
would have a right to expect from the evil 
influences to which the clergy and laity of 
that church are subjected. Having already 
consumed too much space with this part of 
our subject^ we shall conclude it by giving a 
single extract from Mr. Noel's book (p. 399). 
" What is the actual state of the establish- 
ment? Myriads of its members have nothing 
of Christianity but the name^ received in in- 
fancy by baptism^ and retained without one 
spontaneous act of their own : and millions 
do nothing whatever to promote the cause of 
Christ. Its 13^000 churches are generally 
without evangelistic activity^ without bro- 
therly fellowship;, without spirituality^ with- 
out faith. Like Laodicea^ they are luke- 
warm ; like Sardis^ they have a name to live 
and are dead. Of its 16^000 ministers^ about 
1^568 do nothing ; about 6^681 limit their 
thoughts and labours to small parishes, 
which contain from 150 to 300 souls; while 



64 UNCONVERTED CLERGYMEN. 

others in cities and towns profess to take 
charge of 8^,000 or 9^000 souls. And of the 
12^923 working pastors of churches, I fear 
from various concurrent symptoms^ that about 
10;,000 are unconverted men^ who neither 
preach nor hnow the Gospel^ 

Let every line of that fearful paragraph 
be considered, and especially the last sen- 
tence of it, remembering that it is from the 
pen of one who would have poured out his 
heart's blood like water to have made the 
Church what it ought to be ; and see if Pro- 
testantism in the stronghold of her power 
has not reason for self-examination and self- 
condemnation. We have no doubt that 
there has been an improvement in this 
Church of late in some important particu- 
lars, but there must be a radical change in 
the system before piety can flourish and 
expand itself. 

OTHER PROTESTANT CHURCHES OF EUROPE. 

In commenting thus fully and freely 



CONTINENTAL CHURCHES. 65 

upon the Church of England, we by no 
means wish to leave the impression that 
anything like all the evils existing in Pro- 
testant churches are concentrated there. 
We could find much to condemn in the 
Church of Scotland, especially as it existed 
in the days of its moderatism and Erastian- 
ism. An intellectual orthodoxy was indeed 
preserved, but the power of vital religion was 
scarcely known. We might carry the torch 
of investigation around all the Protestant 
churches of Europe ; and measured even by 
the standard of our American evangelical 
spirit, they would present abundant food 
for lamentation and woe. 

How is it with the churches of Holland, 
Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, and Swe- 
den? How is it with Germany, the old 
'' land of the Keformation T How much of 
the genuine spirit of Christ is to be found 
among the churches of Luther? What are 
their 16,000 ministers teaching and prac- 
tising. Do 1,000 of them preach the truth 



GERMAN CLERGY. 



at all? We doubt it. Do half that num- 
ber manifest an apostolic devotion to their 
appropriate work? We doubt it. Are not 
many of them far more concerned about 
their pipe-smoking and their beer-drinking^ 
than about the saving of souls ? Are not 
the most of them more engaged in delving 
into ancient lore^ than in preaching Christ ? 
more concerned in concocting and explod- 
ing rationalistic theories, really subversive 
of the authority of the Bible, more earnest 
in perusing the dreamy subtilties of a worth- 
less and disorganizing philosophy, than in 
visiting the fatherless and the widow, in 
urging the vital simplicities of the Gospel, in 
ministering to the necessities of the needy, 
and sending abroad through the whole tex- 
ture of society, those holy and healing influ- 
ences which emanate from earnest piety in 
the heart, and from the truth as it is in 
Jesus? Can any intelligent Christian say 
that these intimations do injustice to the 
ministers and people of these countries? 



CLERICAL UNFAITHFULNESS. 67 

Surely we can establish all these things by 
abundant evidence. 

Now what is the significancy of these 
facts? Here is Protestantism displayed, 
not in abstract^ but in concrete. Here it is, 
where it first originated and where it has 
been longest tried. Has it the spirit of 
Christ? Does it breathe either a true 
divinity, or a true humanity ? Are its mi- 
nisters and members ^^ going about doing 
good/' ^^ preaching the gospel to the poor/' 
^^ making full proof of their ministry/' 
"feeding the hungry, clothing the naked," 
" preaching in season and out of season, 
reproving, rebuking, exhorting, with all 
long-suffering and doctrine." Are they "en- 
during hardness, as good soldiers of Christ." 
"Are they bearing the cross, despising the 
shame." " Are they beseeching and warning 
men, day and night, with tears?" Very far 
from it. Let it not be attempted to evade 
the force of these things, by ascribing it all 
to unavoidable human imperfection. "He 



68 WANT OF CANDOUR. 

that hath not the spirit of Christ is none of 
his." The true Christian '^ has put off the 
old man with his deeds, and put on the new 
man, who is renewed in knowledge, after 
the image of Him that created him." '^He 
that is born of God doth not commit sin." 
" By their fruits ye shall know them." 

CHRISTIAN DISHONESTY. 

There is something supremely dishonest 
in that very common spirit of refusing to 
consider impartially facts which are adverse 
to the perfection of the party to which we 
belong, whether that party be large or small. 
To endeavour systematically to suppress, 
cover over, and explain away everything of 
an unfavourable character, not only shows 
that there is more attachment to party than 
to truths but is the surest possible method 
of petrifying that party or system, and leav- 
ing it as a stationary rock, the rest of the 
world sweeping by in a mighty 'tide. It is 



WANT OF CANDOUR. 69 

not enough to say that truth in its nature 
is unchangeable. Certainly it is. But the 
grand question to every party and every 
man is, Have you tlie truth and the whole 
truth ? or may there not be some deficiency 
in your system of faith and practice ? To 
settle down upon the idea that you are 
^^ perfect, thoroughly furnished/' is to claim 
an infallibility equal to that claimed by the 
Church of Eome. And yet, in most Pro- 
testant denominations there is just this sort 
of settled conviction that we are right, and 
there is nothing valid can be urged against 
us. Hence preachers, editors, and authors, 
arm themselves cap-a-pie to defend their 
peculiar system just as it is^ in principle and 
in fact. Hence each leading sect lies an- 
chored to its creed, like a man-of-war in 
harbour, although the broad ocean of un- 
explored truth stretches away from it in 
unknown vastness. 

This spirit of disingenuousness is not the 
spirit of the Bible — whose leading character- 



70 HONESTY OF THE BIBLE. 

istics are frankness and honesty. The errors 
and idolatries of Israel are as fully related as 
are their love and faithfulness. The sacred 
writers tell of the wives of Solomon as clear- 
ly as of his wisdom. They tell of David's 
crimes as much as of his virtues. In the 
Gospels, they no more conceal the denial of 
Peter than the sermon on Pentecost. They 
tell as much of Judas as of John. They 
spread out the error and iniquity of churches 
and church members as honestly as they do 
their devotion and their soundness. No 
book in the world is so remarkable for its out- 
spoken honesty as the Bible (and herein lies 
a strong internal evidence of its truth) . And 
if the Church of God has not the same bold 
and candid integrity, it is wanting in at least 
one characteristic of the Word of God. " Paul 
withstood Peter, face to face, because he was 
to be blamed." And there is a moral rotten- 
ness in that system, which would shield, 
even from investigation, the character and 
conduct of ministers and people, or their 



THE REAL POINT. 71 

doctrines. If we cannot be always rights let 
uSj for Heaven's sake, be always honest, and 
then truth and righteousness will at least 
get a hearing before the world. ^^ Whoso 
covereth his sins (whether of practice or doc- 
trine), shall not prosper ; but whoso confess- 
eth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." 

In view of such facts as have been stated or 
alluded to in this article, and in the book 
which is now under special consideration, let 
us not instantly fly into a passion, and fly 
into the face of him who utters them ; but 
let our wrath be reserved until we honestly 
and patiently inquire whether they he true. 
If not true, then let fly the whole artillery of 
heaven and earth against the lie — but even 
then remember in mercy the person of the 
ofiender, and let him be '' saved tho' as by 
fire." But if it be true, let us do as Paul or 
Peter would do, if in our place, own it and 
shun not to declare it even before kings. 
This whole plan of suppressing the truth — 
any truth — is as unphilosophical and impoh- 



72 THE AMERICAN CHURCHES. 

tic, as it is dishonest and unscriptural. 
Truth is salutary, whilst error is injurious. 
Surely this is a settled principle — it is the 
principle of this age, which is scattering 
truth everywhere ; ay, it is the spirit of Pro- 
testantism in its original and essential cha- 
racter. Once let the Church become fully 
imbued with the disingenuousness which so 
characterizes the world, and her beauty, pu- 
rity, and power are gone — she becomes a 
thing of Satan, not of God. " Whatsoever a 
man soweth, that shall he also reap." If he 
soweth lies, he shall reap ruin ! The hopes 
of the world are staked upon the honesty of 
the Church ! 



DECAY m THE AMERICAN CHURCHES. 

Our Protestant denominations in this 
country, in their spirit and practical opera- 
tions, certainly evince more of the true life 
of Christianity than the same denominations 
in the " old country." There is less bigotry, 



SOCIAL RIGIDITY. 78 

less stiffness^ less pride, less secularity, less 
moderatism. But yet there are many sore 
evils among us which might and ought to be 
corrected. And it is to be feared that as 
our society consolidates into something of 
the rigidity which characterizes all old and 
crowded communities, there will come upon 
us a great reactionary tide which will crystal- 
lize our Christianity as sharply and solidly as 
it is seen in countries where the same forces 
have long been acting. The tremendous ear- 
nestness and evangelic zeal of the times of 
Luther gradually subsided, and was succeed- 
ed by indifference to the truth, and indiffer- 
ence to the interests of the people. The Puri- 
tans, with their piety red hot trom the fur- 
nace of trial, gave an impetus to piety in co- 
lonial America — which, however, gradually 
cooled down, as peace and wealth pervaded 
the community. Soon after the violent agi- 
tation of the American mind in the struggles 
of the Revolution — when war was done, the 
wave of feeling, checked in one direction, 

7 



74 SOCIAL EXCLUSIVENESS. 

tacked about^ and poured itself into the reli- 
gious worlds as the baffled Gulf Stream recoils 
from the shore^ and rushes with its warm 
tide almost to the heart of the Frozen Ocean. 
And amidst all the causes of agitation which 
have hitherto kept the American mind under 
a pressure of high excitement, religion, by an 
irresistible sympathy, has received a stimula- 
ting and on-pushing influence. Old things 
passed away in every department, and all 
things became new. But now that those 
waves, which keep the contents of the vessel 
jostling one against another, have subsided — 
and all things have fallen into distinct and 
determinate shapes, each department of life, 
instead of assisting in the development of the 
others, will be spending all its energies direct- 
ly in developing its own interest. And the 
tendency is not only in social life, but in all 
the various lines of pursuit, for the elements of 
society to dispose themselves into a hard sys- 
tem of caste, the orders of which are mutual- 
ly repulsive. Minds lose their versatility, 



THE TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL. 75 

and get to confine themselves to particular 
regions of thought. This indeed will pro- 
mote discovery^ but it will destroy harmony. 
And with all the advance of improvement^ 
men will work harder and harder in their 
special pursuits^ leaving less and less time to 
think of anything outside of their particular 
sphere^ and individuals and classes become 
more isolated : until the command "^ love thy 
.neighbour as thyself" will become even more 
effectually abrogated than it is now. 

Now it is the province of Christianity to 
counteract this selfish and absorbing devo- 
tion to worldly pursuits. But in such an age 
religion is subjected to unusual disadvantages. 
The temporal gets the start of the spiritual ; 
and whatever men go at^ it is with all their 
mighty and will scarcely take time to listen 
to anything else. And inevitably (unless 
arrested by supernatural grace); if the spiri- 
tual cannot overcome the temporal^ the tem- 
poral will overcome the spiritual. One or 
the other must conquer — the w^orld must be 



76 DECADENCE. 

spiritualized; or the Church will be temporal- 
ized. Like a Father Mathew temperance re- 
form, we fear that the paroxysms of our reli- 
gious enthusiasm are ceasing, and the gan- 
grene of rottenness is creeping through our 
churches. Already have we hinted some- 
thing to this e£fect; but we have yet more to 
add. 

The first evidence of this which we mention 
is a general indifference among the churches 
to the real solid truth of God — even to that 
portion of it, which is an acknowledged part 
of their own creed. Even the favourite theo- 
logical doctrines which, up to this time, have 
formed the staple of religious teaching, preach- 
ing, and publishing, are losing their hold upon 
the public mind. This is not because these 
precious doctrines have been supplanted by 
great religious ideas of another sort, but be- 
cause of religious languor and enervation; 
because of a diseased delicacy of the pious 
palate, which has no taste for aught but the 
tit-bits of religious sentimentalism. Look 



DILUTED CHRISTIANITY. 77 

at the issues of our cotemporaneous press^ 
and what are they in the main but a weak^ 
wishy-washy^ everlasting flood of pious trash ; 
namby-pamby novels, stupid tracts, silly 
baby-books, flat biographies, sickening senti- 
mentalism, done up in doggerel or bespread 
in prose over fine white paper; elegantly-bound 
picture-books for centre-tables, giving like- 
nesses of Euth, and Rachel, and Job's oldest 
daughter, for what we know, with nice essays 
on each by bishops and doctors of divinity ! 
Such is the diluted, attenuated stuff we have 
served up now-a-days for Christianity ! 
shades of Butler, Calvin, Edwards, weep over 
your degenerate kind! Behold your giant 
robes covering the shoulders of religious milk- 
sops. Sitting in the heavens, with what con- 
tempt must your dignified souls look down 
upon our coxcomb Christianity — so befixed 
and befurbelowed, and yet having underneath 
such very little body, and still less soul ! How 
would it astonish the burghers of New York 
City to see an announcement of a course of 

7^ 



78 DILUTED CHRISTIANITY. 

" Lectures on Justification by Faith !" We 
are sure the most of them would take it for 
a hoax — a decided hit at the olden times ! 
Just watch the notices for Sunday sermons 
on particular subjects: and although there 
are always a plenty of them in the Saturday 
papers, regularly inserted alongside of notices 
of quack medicines and theatrical exhibitions, 
announcing clerical performances of various 
kinds; yet you search in vain for discussions 
of atonement, sin, regeneration — whilst you 
find an abundance of sermons on ^^ Moral 
Beauty," " Heavenly Recognition," " Temp- 
tation ;" and any number on Kossuth, Hun- 
gary, Intervention, Union, Henry Clay, 
Daniel Webster, Maine Liquor Law, France, 
Cuba, Presidential election, and all the other 
exciting topics of the day. And should some 
faithful old Calvinist advertise a discourse on 
" Predestination," some of his own congre- 
gation would stay at home, and others would 
fear the old man was getting a little unba- 
lanced in his old age. These great subjects 



POPULAR PREACHING. 79 

which form the bone and sinew of Chris- 
tianity (if not the warm blood), seem prac- 
tically to be dropping out of notice. Sermons 
abound in sentiment, and philosophy, and 
secular discussions, and are often as full of 
" pretty things" as a shop window. But the 
preacher must have great courage who would 
choose for his subject some ponderous old 
doctrine, instead of the latest ^^nine days' 
wonder." We believe it was Daniel Webster 
who said, " Preachers now-a-days take their 
texts from the Bible and their sermons from 
the newspapers," — certainly as withering a 
rebuke as can be found in the pages of '' New 
Themes." The great idea with many is to 
be popular. The empty pews are to be filled; 
the crushing church debt is to be paid ; the 
church can't afibrd to have unpalatable doc- 
trines preached in their pulpit — can't afford 
to hear dull gospel common-places doled out 
to them from Sabbath to Sabbath ; they want 
something spicy — something that '' loill draw 
a housed 



80 CHARITY NOT SUPPRESSION. 

And then the preacher is warned to re- 
member that there are people of other deno- 
minations present; that a certain family 
from another denomination is negotiating for 
a pew ; that such a yomig man had married 
into another denomination; that a certain 
lady's aunt sometimes attended the church ; 
all these being of a different way of thinking 
on some points^ it would not do to say any- 
thing that might offend them. The preacher 
must be very careful to avoid interdenomi- 
national topics^ or the income of the church 
might suffer. 

So far as these things are true — and they 
can hardly be doubted by those who have 
had an opportunity of observing — there is 
presented material for very serious reflection. 
We do not consider it any advantage to the 
cause of charity, that the ministers cease to 
preach, and the churches to love, the other 
doctrines of the Bible. It evinces a relaxa- 
tion of mind and a spirit of indifferentism, 
which diminishes the hope of their being in- 



DENOMINATIONALISM. 81 

duced to take hold of any subject demanding 
thought and investigation. The stomach 
which has been kept on a milk diet^ is not in 
a condition to lay hold of any solid food. 

We perhaps cannot join in the tone in which 
denominationalism in all its forms seems to be 
denounced by the author of '' New Themes." 
If you destroy the es'prit du corps of de- 
nominationalism^ you in the same propor- 
tion enervate the strength of church organi- 
zations. And if you withhold from the peo- 
ple the full pabulum of Bible-truth, as it is 
understood by the teacher, you check the 
development of Christian character, and 
produce a race of spiritual dwarfs. There 
is nothing gained in behalf of charity by 
weakening the attachment of the people to 
their principles, unless those principles are 
false, in which case they ought to be 
changed; but still they should be encou- 
raged to lay earnest hold of whatever they 
do believe. It is by magnifying the value 
of all truth that you will be best enabled to 



82 ALL TRUTH IMPORTANT. 

lead them to consider the importance of 
charity. If you try to belittle the favourite 
truth of others^ others will belittle your 
truth. You must; if possible, be able to say, 
^^We are both right. Your truth is true 
and highly important, but here is a great 
truth which needs to go in with the ba- 
lance." And this is just what we can say in 
this case. Faith is true, original sin is true, 
but charity is true also, and we must put 
them together in right proportions. 

Whatever tends to produce indifferent- 
ism, prepares the way for all sorts of here- 
sies, for gradual rejection of fundamental 
truth, and the incoming of a semi-infidelity. 
One of the great wants of the Church now 
is a high-toned anti-moderatism. We are 
sick of this dodging, trimming, time-serving 
spirit, so rife in the religious world. It is 
bad enough to witness the rottenness of our 
mercantile morals, and wide, indeed almost 
universal, venality and want of firm princi- 
ple in the secular press, newspaper and 



THE SECULAR PRESS. 83 

book; but to see the same unprincipled 
spirit corrupting the great sources of reli- 
gious influence is truly appalling! 

THE PRESS — BOOK AND NEWSPAPER. 

Not to speak further of the pulpit just now, 
we remark that it would amaze the plain 
Christian people of the country^ to know the 
principle on which our religious literature is 
usually issued. A publishing house now and 
then sets out to please some particular class 
of the religious community. It acts consist- 
ently for a while^ and perhaps gets the con- 
fidence and patronage of the class aimed at, 
but as the business is hampered in the eyes 
of the prosperous publisher by being con- 
fined to one class, he begins to coquet 
with another class, perhaps the very anti- 
podes of the first. He presently is now and 
then publishing books which run right in 
the teeth of his first customers, but he does 
it so adroitly, that perhaps he has made his 



84 THE PRESS GENERALLY. 

fortune before it is found out that he has 
been blowing both hot and cold. But in 
most cases publishers look upon religious 
principles and religious books purely as an 
article of merchandise^ and their catalogues 
will show an dllapodrida as heterogeneous as 
the contents of a witch's caldron. The par- 
son rarely thinks that his church Bible was 
"gotten up" by the same house that feeds 
the maw of infidelity. The sweet Miss as 
she presses her pearl inlaid Prayer-book to 
her heart; little dreams that it was put out 
by the same house that drives a great trade 
in Paul De Kock's novels. 

But if the literature of men's salvation is 
trafficked in by men of the world just as 
sermons^ papers^ marriage certificates and 
butcher's meat are, we are scarcely sur- 
prised; however shocked we may be at the 
desecration; but our patience is clean gone 
when we see an analogous spirit exhibited 
in much of our religious periodical litera- 
ture. In a large portion of them, the great 



RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS. 85 

idea is to conduct the journal so that it will 
pay ; to have a villainous squinting toward 
mammon while professing to serve God. 
This great phalanx of religious newspapers 
consists^ in the main^ of so many competitors 
in the race of fortune-huntings and they are 
often much more concerned to break one 
another down, than to combine in develop- 
ing great Christian ideas, and carrying for- 
ward great Christian enterprises. They 
much more frequently filch an article from 
another without credit, than acknowledge 
merit in a rival. Even papers representing 
the same great classes of opinions rarely 
agree in advocating anything. If one starts 
an idea, others oppose it from mere jeal- 
ousy. They preserve a great taciturnity 
about one another, until an opportunity 
offers of making a drive against some luck- 
less editor who happens to let slip some- 
thing that an ungenerous competitor can 
make capital of. Of all the numberless 
newspapers in the land, you can scarcely 



86 RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS. 

find two who will ever join harmoniously in 
urging forward any scheme of good. If 
one paper compliments another^ it is be- 
cause there is no chance of their interfering 
with one another's success^ and in some 
instances it is done to disoblige a rival. 
And as to the actual contents of these 
papers^ what are they ? Chiefly flat letters 
of foreign correspondents^ who are paid to 
write^ whether they have anything to say 
or not; fourth-rate essays on familiar com- 
monj)laces5 columns of news from the daily 
papers^ disingenuous notices of books which 
are not read^ receipts for housewifery^ ad- 
vertisements about general matters^ hasty 
editorials on an unvarying set of topics^ 
complimenting friends^ and (we were going 
to say) J cursing enemies; great on little mat- 
ters^ and little on great matters. We could 
excuse mere imbecility^ if there were an 
honesty manly, outspoken policy pursued; 
but usually it is the very reverse. The 
policy is to j)lease^ and not to advocate 



RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS. 87 

truth. A sentiment may be admitted pri- 
vately by the conductors, and yet if it would 
run counter to the prejudices of their 
patrons, it is denied a hearing. Hence our 
orthodox religious newspaper press is the 
most stationary of our literature, and hence 
it is practically reactionary. Frequently 
indeed the column of book notices will con- 
tain a sneer at a certain book, such as '^ New 
Themes," whilst the editorial column will 
contain some of the ideas of the same book. 
But there is no bold, manly laying hold of a 
new and difficult subject; no earnest, in- 
quisitive searching after truth. An idea 
must have the imprimatur of at least one 
generation of divines before it can receive an 
elaborate treatment. They are afraid to com- 
mit themselves to an idea until the world in 
some other way has found it to be good and 
true, and then the ponderous editorials come 
lumbering on to the field after the battle 
has been won, and like Jack Falstaff, hew 
and hack the bodies already slain. They 



88 RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS. 

are mostly ^•conservative" (as they ought 
to be) ; but their idea of conservatism is 
fighting ofi" all new ideas^ until everybody 
believes them, and then putting them into 
the list of their loci communes, to be put 
forth in all sorts of shapes, as the boy 
makes his piece of putty now into a ball, 
then into a bird, and again into a shoe ; but 
still it is the same putty all the time. 

But let us not be understood as opposing 
religious newspapers. We think them highly 
valuable even as they are, and many good and 
some able men write for them, but we think 
they lack point, and candour, and ability, and 
they fall far short of their dut}^ in laying hold 
of the new phases of thought which are turn- 
ing up every day. They are too scary, too 
time-serving, too mercenary, too deficient in 
kindness and magnanimity. 

There is one small class of periodicals which 
deserves the severest castigation. It is that 
which professes loudest a love of union, libe- 
rality, and catholic evangelism; but their 



NEW THEMES AT FAULT. 89 



union means truckling to several parties 
instead of to one ; their liberality means 
freedom to abuse men and things obnoxi- 
ous to their patrons^ and add spice to their 
papers by a free use of every sort of ad 
captaiidum material culled from politics^ 
music^ philosophy^ gossip^ or scandal ; their 
catholic evangelism means keeping the bulk 
of the truth of God out of sight;, and court- 
ing the greatest number of Christians who 
can, by an occasional pietistic whine, be bait- 
ed into the ranks of their admiring spooneys, 
whose admiration is valued at precisely the 
amount of their subscriptions. 

^^KEW themes" AT FAULT. 

It will be seen from the foregoing remarks 
that there is at least an apparent difference 
in our estimate of the spirit of the times and 
that made by the writer whom, for the sake 
of brevity, we shall call "New Themes." 
He seems to consider the spirit of our exis- 
tent Protestantism eminently doctrinal. We 

8* 



90 RELIGIOUS INDIFEERENTISM. 

think that such it was not long since ; but 
that now it manifests a singular want of 
sturdy principle of all kinds. Its standards 
of course remain the same^ but in some 
quarters there is indifferentism^ and in others 
entire and acknowledged defection^ in regard 
of these standards. When there is a discus- 
sion of principles at all, it is usually a dis- 
cussion among the members of the same sect. 
It is Methodist vs. Methodist, Episcopalian vs. 
Episcopalian, Presbyterian vs. Presbyterian, 
Baptist vs. Baptist, Quaker vs. Quaker, rather 
than each sect rallying around its hereditary 
principles, and boldly maintaining them as 
the truth of God. Even the proselytism 
that is the chief study and practice of some 
sects is not a warfare of principle, but a 
sneaking form of Jesuitical intrigue. It pro- 
ceeds on the system of seducing the young 
and unwary, rather than converting the op- 
ponent by honest argument. It is an assault 
of air-guns, deadly but soundless. Their 
principles are masked in annuals, engravings, 



PROSELYTING. 91 

nouvelettes^ biographies^ pious meditations^ 
and all the manifold seductions of social ap- 
pliances^ whilst open averment and assault 
are studiously avoided. The poison is so in- 
termingled with syrup^ that the patient is 
fully drugged before he knows it. And this 
plan of operations is successful just because 
the people^ especially the younger portion^ 
hang on to the churches of their fathers by 
the sole tie of habit. Very few inquire or 
are taught why they are in one church rather 
than another ; and any direct attempt to ex- 
plain differences is commonly met by opposi- 
tion. The people have a sort of charity for 
others^ which is worse than bigotry — not 
that charity which helievetli all things — not 
that which is the product of an intelligent 
faith^ but that easy indifferentism which is 
without faith^ which prefers the stagnation 
of the pool rather than have their indolence 
stirred by a ripple. Such charity is a vice ; 
and that charity alone is to be commended 
which is the efflorescence of a strong root of 



92 CHARITY NOT MODERATISM. 

principle. As true liberty is impossible with- 
out a rigid system of law^ so true charity is 
impossible without a firm basis of doctrinal 
truth. It is the truth which must make us 
free — free from sin^ from error^ from bigotry^ 
from prejudice^ from cant. No genuine cha- 
rity is possible on any other plan than as the 
top-dressing of a solid sub-soil of theological 
truth; and to attempt to have a valuable 
charity apart from this^ would be as vain as 
to attempt to keep the air of your garden 
scented with a favourite perfume apart from 
the plant which exhales it. 

Whilst^ however^ " New Themes" and our- 
selves may differ slightly in our understand- 
ing of the spirit of the living age^ yet in the 
principles just stated we do not apprehend 
that there would be any material difference 
of sentiment between us. 

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES TO BE WATCHED. 

This paper was not designed to exhibit 
the slightest literary finish^ — and if it has 



THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. 93 

any value^ it is only for the honest expres- 
sion of sentiments, which are either grossly 
slanderous or are deserving of serious atten- 
tion. No quarter is asked of that class of 
critics who digest their roast beef over the 
new publications they like to receive to fill 
their libraries, despatching several 8vos and 
12mos, besides a raft of sermons, speeches^ 
and " stories for children," in three or four 
afternoons, and then inditing a few para- 
graphs about each, which may easily be seen 
to evince a blind prejudice — a reckless party 
spirit — a total misapprehension of the work 
— or show that these notices are like the 
wood-cut which the ^^ Western Editor" (that 
butt of eastern wit) used successively for a 
President, an English lord, a murderer, a 
parson, and the '' razor-strap man." People 
there are, no doubt, who still set a value on 
such flimsy criticisms. But the discerning 
portion of the public have about as much 
respect for such '' notices" as they have for 
the '' signs of the moon" in planting potatoes. 



94 INCOHERENCE. 

But of our candid reader we must ask par- 
don for leading him in such zigzag fashion 
through this grave subject; but^ really^ it is 
the best we can do under the circumstances 
in which we write^ so he must commence 
his practice of the grace which we inculcate 
rather than exemphfy^ by ^^ forbearing" im- 
patience with our doublings jerking gait. 
We have a good many ideas on this general 
subject^ but we scent them up, or scare them 
up, much as the hound does the hares he is 
hunting in the cedar thicket, following hard 
after whichever one happens to rise until it is 
run down, and then starting another 5 and it 
may be that the same one is chased awhile, 
then left for another, to be returned to, per- 
haps, several times before it is fairly ex- 
hausted or disposed of. 

And we must also be permitted to say that, 
although we may sometimes indulge in light 
remarks, we do not view this whole subject 
in any other than a most serious aspect. We 
are dealing with what may be considered the 



THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. 95 

sum of human Jiopes^ and we are incapable of 
mockery on such a theme. 

We now revert to the peculiarities of our 
Protestant ministry in this country. Many 
of the peculiarities of the present generation 
of ministers are attributable to the very re- 
cent adoption of the system of education in 
tlieological seminaries. We consider this sys- 
tem^ in its possibilities^ very superior to the 
system of private reading under an old minis- 
ter — which^ whilst it had many advantages^ 
and answered well for the '^ times of men's 
ignorance/' would by no means answer for 
training the kind of religious teachers de- 
manded by this enlightened and investigating 
age. But the seminary system is one fraught 
with gigantic evils^ unless it be watched with 
a jealous eye^ and be kept in a flexible and 
constantly improving state. It is no part of 
our design to go into a full discussion of this 
subject; but there are some views of it perti- 
nent to our object^ which we take leave to 
present. All the leading denominations have 



96 THEOLOGICAL PROFESSORS. 

such schools^ and what we have to say will 
apply to all alike. 

Let us consider this system in its natural 
tendencies ; first^ upon the professorial corps ; 
second^ upon the pastoral life ; and third^ upon 
the Church, as a body ; — the bearing of all 
which upon mankind in general will be easily 
seen. 

1. In commenting upon the tendencies of 
the seminary system, as affecting the com- 
plexion of the professorial corps, we wish to 
be understood as speaking of causes which, 
as yet, have had too little time to produce 
general or very noticeable results ; and hence 
the careless observer may at once declare our 
views unfounded ; but we believe that time 
and a close observation will verify the main 
positions we shall take. 

It is obvious to all that this system will 
create a class of scholars^ whose attainments 
will very far exceed that of the pastors, as a 
class. This we advert to as a fact, which 
may be for great good or great evil. It is 



THEOLOGICAL PROFESSORS. 97 

the generation of a gigantic estate in the 
Church which may prove an impregnable 
bulwark; or a traitorous usurper of the throne 
of power — which power may be used to ex- 
tinguish independent thought on the one 
hand, or to instil dangerous and seductive 
error on the other. 

In different denominations the professorial 
mind will be projected in different directions, 
depending in a measure upon the leading pe- 
culiarity of the denomination, and will incline 
to run into an heretical exaggeration of those 
peculiarities, not by laboriously working in the 
practical field of these peculiarities so much 
as by being seduced on in the direction indi- 
cated, into regions entirely beyond the sym- 
pathies of the existent Church. 

For example, if it is characteristic of the 
sect to make a large use of reason in theolo- 
gical matters — to believe doctrines, not be- 
cause God says so, but because they can 
maintain them in other ways — then their 



98 THE THEOLOGICAL LIFE 

seminary theologues are in special danger of 
rationalistic errors. 

If the peculiarity of the sect be an undue 
elevation of the mere forms of religion, then 
you may expect to find the seminaries the 
great fountain-heads of the doctrines of sa- 
cramental grace and ecclesiology. 

If the tendency is an undue subjection of 
the mind to the " letter which killeth/' then 
the teachings will be confined chiefly to a 
barren exegesis, whose sole object is to com- 
pel the Scriptures to yield a foregone conclu- 
sion, and to explain away all other interpre- 
tations, and practically to make little use of 
those portions of Scripture which are not 
needed in the establishment of a long rounded 
and finished system of doctrines. 

We regard the tendency to error, or 
exaggeration or omission (as the case may 
be) much greater among theological pro- 
fessors than among pastors, because they 
are removed from the checks and balances 
which belong to the life of the pastor, and 



ISOLATING IN ITS INFLUENCE. 99 

which really tend to soften and neutralize 
any error or omission in his system of 
belief. The body requires for its health 
both repose and vigorous action^ and the 
mind to be safe and sound^ must combine 
study and action. If its life is all action^ it 
becomes dwindled ; if its life is all study ;, it 
becomes bloated. The professorial life is 
spent in the study and in the chair. The 
professor's mind dwells in a different world 
from the pastor's. The details of pastoral 
existence soon become insipid to the mind 
of him whose thoughts are borne away 
habitually to vast fields lying out of all 
common sight and sympathy. Quietly em- 
bosomed midst academic shades^ the din of 
actual life is forgotten. The strife of sects 
dwindles into insignificance beside the great 
controversies waging in his beloved black- 
letter literature, or the giant errors and 
infidelities which he beholds afar oflf. What 
cares he for the '' mode of baptism/' for the 
question of liturgies, or the dijBferences in 



100 A DENOMINATIONAL SPIRIT 

Church Government^ when his eye is full 
fixed upon the ^^ Great Beast/' or his 
thoughts drowned in the ocean of German 
Atheism ; so that when his pupil goes forth 
he almost expects to meet Spinoza at the 
first corner^ or to be called upon to fly to 
the deliverance of some victim under the 
horn of the "Beast/' and if it should be 
only a Baptist he meets^ he cannot give him 
a single decent reason why he should not go 
under the water at once. We give it as a 
decided tendency of their position^ that pro- 
fessors are gradually led away from the 
region of every-day activities. It is no 
reply to this, to say that the same objection 
lies against the chairs in our literary institu- 
tions. We believe the objection valid 
against both, but as being much more serious 
in its bad effects in theological than in 
other seminaries of learning : more serious, 
because the college is not depended on to 
furnish the practical training for any pur- 
suit, whilst the seminary, like the moot 



DISPLACED BY A SCHOLASTIC SPIRIT. 101 

court and law office^ the hospital and dis- 
secting-room^ the clerkship and apprentice- 
ship^ the normal school and the agricultural 
college^ to other pursuits^ is meant to give 
the immediate practice and final training 
for active life. 

Another evil tendency in the present sys- 
tem is for the professor to exalt learning 
above training. Hence the professor is 
chiefly concerned to cram the pupil's mind 
with other men's thoughts;, giving him very 
little encouragement to think for himself^, 
and very little opportunity to exercise the 
very faculties which are in incessant and 
prominent demand in the pastorate. Hence 
theological education narrows into the at- 
tenuating system of mere inculcation. The 
professor looks upon his class as his au- 
dience; and if he catechizes them at all^ it 
is that they may retail to him his own lec- 
tures or their gatherings from other theo- 
logues to whom he has referred them."^ 

* No great respect is due to mere elocutionary exer- 
9>^ 



102 THEOLOGICAL MONASTICISM. 

Living thus in a world of theological lite- 
rature mostly of past ages, the professor is 
almost absolutely cut off from all oppor- 
tunities of studying man^ individually or in 

ciseS; especially when conducted by ordinary professors of 
elocution, who, as a class, seem doomed to rank with teach- 
ers of music and dancing. This may be because a man 
capable of this is capable of a better business. But the 
kind of training we think needed, is that which gives the 
student thorough mastery of his own powers and of 
every idea which enters his mind. Let the amount of 
acquisition be reduced and clarified, and more time be 
devoted to requiring the student to fasten the frame- 
work of every subject in his mind, instead of accumu- 
lating such undigested heaps in his note-books, and to 
requiring him to call up promptly, and deliver fluently 
his thoughts upon the great leading topics of the Chris- 
tian system. Let him be taught to be a ready, self- 
possessed, clear, lively, speaker , to be a man outside of 
his study and away from his '^ notes. ^' Let him have a 
chance too to form a style more modern and graceful 
than that of the divines of the last century, so that when 
he comes into the world he will speak the language of 
the people, and not a strange, antique dialect, like a 
Rip Van Winkle who has been slumbering since the 
days of the schoolmen. 



THEOLOGICAL MONASTICISM. 103 

society. His thoughts are projected in a 
different direction. If he is not carried 
beyond the orthodox bounds of his system^ 
he remains like a giant in his castle, whose 
life is spent in pacing around on his walls, 
and letting fly his catapult against all man- 
ner of foes, real and imaginary. He regards 
his fortress as perfect, and considers the 
hopes of the world largely involved in its 
remaining just as it is. The immured theo- 
logian cannot know much of the ac- 
tual workings of Christianity among men. 
Newspapers and statistical reports cannot 
convey to him any distinct impression of 
the detailed collisions, defeats, and conquer- 
ings of Christianity. But worse than this, 
he can never derive a suggestion from the 
world of man; he can never see actual 
wants and sufferings that are in the world. 
The strangest story he could listen to, would 
be the detailed experience of a pastor. Not 
seeing anything of it himself, he has but 
little sympathy with the statements which 



104 THE THEOLOGICAL CORPS 

are made concerning it; and hence^ never 
studies how Christianity may be made more 
practically operative in society. The her- 
mit^ who long since went from the inhabi- 
ted plain^ to spend his life in the valley 
behind the high mountain range^ cannot be 
expected to see the world or to study its 
wants; and when the professor retires 
behind his great mountain of Divimty^ how 
can he see through such a mass to the living 
world beyond ? And this valley is as cool 
as it is retired. The warm breezes of the 
plain are chilled ere they reach his hearty, 
until even the stray wanderer from the 
haunts of men is felt to be an intruder. 

These remarks take it for granted that 
this professorial corps will not be popu- 
larized by frequent appointments from the 
world of working pastors. We fear that 
unless the Church is put upon her guard, 
she will have very few practical men as the 
instructors of her candidates for the minis- 
try. There will gradually grow up in and 



SELF-PERPETUATING. 105 

around these seminaries, a scholastic aristo- 
cracy out of which the vacancies will chiefly 
be filled. Students of superior talents will 
be singled out by the professors and friends 
of the institution, and encouraged to study 
with direct reference to professorial chairs. 
They will remain long as resident gradu- 
ates, will be appointed as sub-teachers, and 
will acquire a deserved reputation as scho- 
lars, and as communicators of knowledge. 
Through the various avenues of influence 
they will be put prominently before the 
churches, and the selection will finally be 
made from this class, whilst the working 
pastors will rarely present a candidate 
whose scholarship and reputation^ will enable 
him to rival one of these ^^ remarkable 
young men," who has all his life been vege- 
tating in the shadow of institutions of learn- 
ing. 

And at any rate, changes are of rare 
occurrence in small faculties. What Mr. 
Jefferson said of office-holders under govern- 



106 SEMINARY SELF-CONSEQUENCE. 

ment applies partly to incumbents of all 
such offices — " They rarely die and never 
resign." At any rate^ the introduction of an 
occasional man "fresh from the people/' 
(as the politicians say), cannot change the 
estabhshed tone of things he finds there. 
Instead of changing the Seminary, the 
Seminary changes him, and in a few years 
he becomes the veriest stagyrite of them 
all. 

Another danger is that theological semi- 
naries will come to consider themselves as 
the first and highest estate in the churches. 
Their officers are conscious of being the most 
learned of all, they mould the pastors, they 
write the weighty books, and conduct the 
highest class of periodicals. A sense of their 
dignity will grow upon them, until they will 
take to task the highest Church courts, as 
coolly as the pedagogue switches an urchin. 

2. We proceed briefly to consider the in- 
fluence of these institutions upon pastors, 
who are educated in them. 



CANDIDATES FOR THE MINISTRY. 107 

It is an old sayings " Like priest^ like peo- 
ple/' and we may add^ '' Like teacher^ like 
pupil." The candidate for the ministry, after 
having spent his life, up to that time, chiefly 
in the school-house and college-hall — his 
thoughts, for four years past, having been 
expatiating through the planetary spaces, the 
society of the ancient heathen republics, and 
the abstractions of mathematics and meta- 
physics — his intervals of time having been 
spent in lounging — enters at, say twenty-one, 
the walls of the seminary, and lays his head 
under the hydraulic press of a theological 
course, where it stays for three years, if not 
four. His activities consist in turning over 
lexicons, reading commentaries, and Church 
histories, and rummaging among bodies of 
divinity. His will is under the control of 
the professor, whose lectures are his law, 
and under whose direction, he explores the 
ruins of the past. The most of his acquisi- 
tions he commits to paper, and if, at the end 
of his course, a fire should consume his 



108 INDIVIDUALITY DESTROYED. 

manuscripts^ he would feel as light and lost 
as would his professor without a manuscript 
in the pulpit. His crammings lie so confused 
in his mindj that if he were suddenly called 
to explain the way of salvation before an 
audience, he would scarcely know what to 
say, or how to say it. Give him time to 
overhaul his notes, and he will give you hours 
of discussion on each step. But his powers 
have been stunned, if not crushed. His 
knowledge manages him, and not he his 
knowledge. He has no ready command of 
his faculties, or his ideas. The great busi- 
ness, which he went to acquire, is yet to be 
learned, viz., preaching. He has no concep- 
tion that ideas are to be sought anywhere 
but in his theological repositories. His style 
of thought and expression is that of the lec- 
ture-room — his delivery, ditto. Passion, ele- 
gance, and point, in composition, fluency of 
speech, vivacity, adaptation to real life, ar- 
dent love of men, are things undreamt of in 
his philosophy. In the parlour he is wretched, 



YOUNG PREACHERS. 109 

and excites the commiseration (if nothing 
worse), of all around him. In the pulpit he 
is stiff and precise. He passes along through 
his abstruse and logical discourse (copied 
out of his note-book) 5 coming over technical 
words and phrases, and employing a diction 
a hundred years old. Few understand 
him, still fewer follow him through, and all 
vote liim a bore. Poor fellow, he has not 
finished his first day's work, until his dys- 
pepsia is on him hard, and he feels like a 
lost country boy in the heart of the carnival. 
People^ customs^ preaching^ are the strangest 
things to him in the world. Who would 
have thought that seven years' hard training 
could have so unfitted him for his business ! 
He feels much as a cadet may be imagined 
to feel, who has been, for years, learning " for- 
tification and gunnery," but who finds him- 
self on the field of battle, all surrounded by 
arms, which he has never learned to load 
or to point. It need not be said that some 
youth triumph over their disadvantages, by 

10 



110 THE PARSON IN TROUBLE. 

reason of native superiority^ but who that 
knows the reputation of ^^ clerical appren- 
tices/' needs any evidence that what we 
have stated is true of the graduates of our 
seminaries as a class. 

Of course^ these young prophets begin pre- 
sently to work loose, and gradually to find out 
what they are in the ministry for. But they 
soon find out^ likewise, that if they retain any 
hearers, they must dispense with much of 
their theological lumber, and, in some way, 
take an entire new^ start. Now, here is the 
critical point. Fortunate is the youth if his 
chilled piety revive, and he address himself, 
solemnly and earnestly, to the saving of souls. 
This is sometimes the case, but not always 
— ^we fear not usually. His common sense 
tells him that he must popularize himself, or 
his audiences will be as small as was Dean 
Swift's, when he began, ^^ Dearly beloved 
John." Had the doctrines of his creed really 
taken distinct hold of his intelligence, and 
his feeling, had he been trained to master 



Ill 

and wield his ideas^ nothing would have been 
wanting, but to bring out, in a clear and easy 
form, the staple articles of religious belief, to 
have engaged the attention of his hearers ; 
but attributing the lack of interest in the 
people, not only to his manner, but to the 
doctrines themselves — he concludes to select 
new topics, and to cultivate a new style. He 
has many alternatives. He asks himself, 
shall he become elegant or vulgar! Shall he 
study poetry, or the newspapers ! Shall he 
be satirical, or sentimental ! Or, perhaps, he 
had better be philosophical, than any ! 
Shall he be radical, or conservative ! Shall 
he go to Union-saving, whether it is in dan- 
ger or not, or whether it is any of his busi- 
ness or not ! To flatter hungry merchants, 
shall he say there is no '^ Higher Law" than 
the Constitution of the United States, and 
thus deny his God ! Shall he turn eulogist- 
general of dead statesmen, or lay himself out 
in the '^ Maine Liquor Law !" Shall he ad- 
vertise himself freely in the newspapers, and 



112 CLERICAL CLAP- TRAP. 

get up all manner of raree-shows in his 
church ! Shall he get an organ or band of 
music in his gallerj^^ and hire stage-singers to 
do up his God-praising, or shall the Psalms 
be sung as through comb-teeth ! Something 
must be done^ that's certain ! But whether 
it shall be demagogical clap-trap or esthetical 
clap-trap is the question ! If he determines 
to be genteel^ then the tailor^ the toilet, 
books of etiquette, an occasional slap at the 
" Liquor Law/' and " The Irish/' goes a great 
way. If vulgar, then a dash of the free and 
easy, a sneer at " up-town," and a study of 
the slang-whanger's vocabulary, soon get him 
in the way. All this is a reaction from his 
bad theological training, which sent him out 
without a single qualification for his office, 
except book-learning, and without a mastery 
of that. 

To take another view, let any one look 
abroad, and see the mode in which ministers, 
even of a serious, evangelical spirit, especially 
in our large cities, spend their existence. 



PASTORAL HABITS. 113 

Their lives may be said to consist in elabo- 
rating and pronouncing discourses from the 
pulpit. A '' preaching from house to house/' 
or a serious pastoral visitation and personal 
supervision of the youngs is a department of 
Christian duty that is almost wholly ne- 
glected. The habits of the seminary con- 
tinue : he is absorbed — often destroyed — by 
his cloister-toil. Now^ what excuse have the 
servants of Christ for this sort of monasti- 
cism — for withdrawing their influence from 
the world for six days in the week^ in order 
that they may make a display on the seventh ? 
Such being his isolation from, his own peo- 
ple, how can he sympathize with suffering 
humanity outside of the churches, or even 
know of its condition? Pastors scarcely 
know the condition of the families in their 
own parishes ; how can they know of the 
miseries under which the thousands of poor 
and needy suffer, on their very path to their 
churches ? We might take the very men of 
distinguished piety mentioned by "^ A Lay- 



114 NO IMITATION OF CHRIST. 

man/' and venture the assertion that they 
never were in the habit of perambulating 
amongst the abodes of wretchedness in our 
cities. According to the established habits 
of ministers^ as to pulpit preparation^ it were 
physically impossible for them " to go about 
doing good" in the manner Christ did — im- 
possible for them to act the Samaritan^ or to 
exhibit a sample of James's idea of " pure 
and undefiled religion." It is scarcely pos- 
sible to suggest a remedy for this most un- 
christian system of pastoral existence. Indi- 
viduals cannot depart from the established 
custom without dissatisfying their congrega- 
tions^ and perhaps forfeiting their living. 
But church judicatories ought to interfere. 

It is easy^ then^ to account for the fact 
that the clergy are so stiff and stationary in 
their ideas and modes of thought. They 
live a retired^ tread-mill life^ having no time 
or opportunity for independent thought and 
observation. Each becomes identified with 
the interests of a certain congregation^ which 



SEMINARIES AND THE CHURCHES. 115 

in most cases has gone beyond its means in 
building a house of worship^ and can give 
their pastor a decent salary only when they 
are extricated ; and every motive of affection 
to his people and love to himself^ combine to 
bury his life with theirs. So that each church 
is a sort of independent barony^ absorbed in 
the business of self-preservation. 

3. Enough has been said already to indi- 
cate our view of the influence theological 
seminaries are likely to exert on the churches. 
The seminaries^ having the distinguished 
scholars^ the book-writers^ the review editors^ 
the large libraries, and, more than all, the 
educating of the ministers, they will gradu- 
ally (unless watched) rise to the first power 
in the Church, and infuse their spirit into the 
remotest extremities of the body. The peo- 
ple who look to the ministers, and find them 
drawing their life from the seminaries, natu- 
rally imbibe of the same current. The 
opinions and the pronunciamatoes of the se- 
minary aristocracy will outweigh all other 



116 THE SEMINARY SUPREME. 

decisions and enactments ; and woe be to the 
wight who then sets his face against the cur- 
rent ! And^with all the occasional aberra- 
tions of desperate young parsons, still the 
great eye of the Seminary, looking down on 
the ministry, will fascinate the mass of them 
into a charmed quiescence. And w^hen the 
day comes for the great Seminary to be 
" made mad by much learning," the great 
ej^e will charm only that the conquered 
Church may receive the envenomed fang, 
and deadly error be sent through all her 
veins. 

All these evils, we believe, may be averted 
by suitable and timely efforts; and their vast 
capabilities for good be multiplied many fold 
over what they have yet reached. 



SALARIES EDUCATION SOCIETIES — PROUD 

POVERTY. 

Another disadvantage under which the 
clergy labour, lies in the difficulty they have 



PASTORAL SALARIES. 117 

in living on their salaries. If we insist upon 
ministers imitating their apostolical prede- 
cessors in all respects^ then they are better off 
by far than they ought to be. And whilst 
we are not disposed to insist upon such a ne- 
cessity^ yet it becomes a very serious ques- 
tion to determine how far clergymen should 
follow their people in the rapidly-increasing 
extravagance of living. If the principle be 
a sound one^, that the pastor ought to " live 
as icelV as the most of his people^ then it 
will not be many generations until our Ame- 
rican clergy will rival the English Bishops in 
the largeness of their- incomes^ and the splen- 
dour of their dwellings^ and the sumptuous- 
ness of their tables. Already^ in our coun- 
try, clergymen are receiving salaries as high 
as eight thousa>nd dollars per annum ^ and the 
tendency is constantly upward. And in our 
cities^ the social ambition of pastor and peo- 
ple stimulates the desire to surround the pas- 
torate with all the elegance their means will 
admit of. And the temptation is strong upon 



118 PASTORAL POVERTY. 

the pastor to flatter the rich^ and to speak 
his rebukes against their worldliness and 
vanity in the blandest tone imaginable. And 
if the pulpit is thus to be bribed to wink at 
and even imitate the luxurious tendencies of 
the age^ there is no power short of a miracle 
that can arrest the fearful tide of Christian 
worldliness and self-indulgence. If the clergy 
will not live lives of self-denial^ how can 
their parishioners be expected to do so ? 

But it is generally admitted that " they 
who preach the Gospel should live by the Gos- 
pel/' and when the people have enough and 
to spare, the clergy should receive enough 
salary " to free them from worldly cares and 
anxieties/' in order that their whole energies 
may be thrown unhampered into their high 
vocation. But, in point of fact, they are 
generally crippled and secularized by the 
poverty with which they have to contend. 
By scores and hundreds, they fly from the 
ministry into college professorships, which 
might be better filled by laymen — into school- 



CLERICAL PRIZES. 119 

teachings into farmings into snug ecclesiasti- 
cal offices^ into newspaper editing, and vari- 
ous departments of secular literature. So 
that, probably, the great preponderance of 
ministerial time and energy is not given to 
the direct work of the ministry at all. And 
as colleges, academies, boards, secretaryships, 
agencies, newspapers, seminaries, are multi- 
plied, whose emoluments, being usually fixed 
by the clergy themselves, range far above 
the ordinary salaries, an increasingly large 
proportion of the ablest pastors will be drawn 
from their work. In fact, these offices, and 
a few large pastoral salaries, will become the 
prizes in the Church, on which the multitude 
of starving pastors will fix their longing eyes, 
and for every vacancy there will be such a 
scrambling and candidating, as should make 
the Church mourn and weep ! 

We fear that there is too much truth in 
the impression that the ministry, as a class, 
command less respect in society than they did 
a century ago. If it be true that there is 



120 CLERICAL COARSENESS. 

less spiritual-mindedness^ and less earnest, 
self-consecrating devotion to their noblest of 
works than formerly, then we need go no far- 
ther for a reason. If the remarks we have 
made about the secularized condition of the 
Church, have any foundation in fact, then 
are we forced to believe that "^ like people, 
like priest," just as '' like priest, like people." 
These intimations are made in love and sor- 
row. But, if true, it is high time the alarm 
were sounded. 

It need scarcely be said, that we are no 
advocate of exclusive caste in Christian so- 
ciety — but common sense makes it plain, 
that a certain degree of refinement of charac- 
ter is demanded for ministerial success, un- 
less a rare native genius enable him to suc- 
ceed, in spite of it. Coarseness and want of 
tact are unfavourable to ministerial accepta- 
bility in all classes of society. His relations to 
the community are very different from those 
of any other man. He has imperative need 
of the utmost gracefulness, and most delicate 



SOCIAL UNFITNESS. 121 

sensibilities^ in dealing with the religious na- 
ture of his fellow-men. A rude shock to the 
agonized soul may be fatal^ and refined na- 
tures^ whether in the cot or the mansion^ can- 
not unburthen their heart to a boor. And 
every one can perceive^ at a glance^ how 
necessary a qualification it is in the minister 
in order to be an acceptable visiter among 
well-bred people^ that he should move 
with practised ease through the numberless 
civilities of social life. And in the pulpit^ 
too^ the whole air and style of expression 
need a Pauline grace and urbanity^ even when 
dealing out the severest reproofs^ and wield- 
ing the grim terrors of Sinai. 

The tendency of the times is very power- 
fully to recruit the ministry with youth^ who 
though worthy of high respect^ yet lack the 
qualifications alluded to. We may care little 
for it^ but it cannot be denied that already 
the office of the minister is regarded, in a 
social point of view, as one of the inferior 

positions in life ; and this, too, not merely 

11 



122 THE MINISTRY LOSING ITS POSITION. 

among worldlings^ but among Christians. 
The general poverty of the office and rude- 
ness of its incumbents, lead even Christian 
parents to dedicate their sons to other pro- 
fessions. At the same time, the office being 
a temptation to those in different circum- 
stances and education, societies offering am- 
pleiacilities for entering the office, and even 
searching out and pressing in such as give 
any tolerable promise, the proportion of 
really unqualified men grows larger and 
larger every year, and in the same propor 
tion does the office lose its standing and 
effectiveness in society. Now we own to a 
hearty contempt for social arrogance, and 
claim a superior admiration for what are 
called the middling and lower classes. But 
we view this subject precisely as the excel- 
lent and gentlemanly author of " Clerical 
Manners" viewed it, merely as a part of mi- 
nisterial qualification for usefulness in his 
office; precisely as we view the study of 
rhetoric, or any other acquirement of theo- 



CLERICAL MANNERS. 123 

logical training. The clergyman ought to 
be a scholar^ because the duties of his office 
demand it ; he ought to be an orator^ to move 
and persuade the people; and for equally 
valid^ if not equally important reasons^ he 
ought to he a gentleman; and ought from his 
youth to be trained to practise the urbani- 
ties which belong to polite society. We are 
far from believing that these opportunities 
are confined to the circlearof the rich and the 
fashionable. We believe that^ as a general 
rule^ the creatures of fashion are the most 
thoroughly ill-mannered of all classes in 
society ; and that true refinement is con- 
sistent with all spheres of honest life — but 
there is a certain furniture of what you may 
call conventionalities; unattainable^ except in 
the private circle of those who have leisure 
for indulging in social enjoy ments^ and a 
knowledge of which is very essential to a 
general ministerial usefulness — essential to 
that universal adapt ability ^ which Paul de- 
scribes as " being all things to all men/' that 



124 EFFECT OF SUDDEN ELEVATION. 

by the employment of all means he might 
save some. 

Did the circumstances of an humble origin 
promote in the ministry a true humility^ and 
love for the poor^ we could never have writ- 
ten the above; but one leading reason for 
writing the above was^ that the very con- 
trary is the case. 

He has studied human society to little pur- 
pose, who has not seen that those who suddenly 
rise above their native sphere, are apt to be the 
most haughty and supercilious of all classes 
in society. De Quincey remarks, that he 
has noticed that the most punctilious and 
assuming class, in English society, are the 
bishops and their families. Being suddenly 
introduced from a lower grade to a place 
among the magnates of the land, and wishing 
to make sure of a social consideration corre- 
sponding with their rapid elevation in posi- 
tion, they are the most careful, of all others, to 
assert their full dignity, and to detach them- 
selves from all that would remind the world 



CONTEMPT FOR THE POOR. 125 

of their late associations. And throughout 
society they are the Tittlebat Titmoiises — the 
'^ upstart aristocracy/' who are the most 
hyper-lordly, and contemptuous toward the 
poor, of all others. Clergymen are made of 
the same stuff with other people, and al- 
though we believe them, as a class, to be the 
purest of all, yet we cannot hope, that when 
they are raised from obscurity to a compara- 
tively high elevation, they will be free from 
the temptation to forget whence they origi- 
nated, and to become so solicitous to fortify 
their claims to their newly-acquired dignity, 
that they will, as far as possible, detach 
their attentions and sympathies from the 
humbler associations of their youth. They 
may yet, indeed, chime in with the fashion- 
able whine of the community about the suf- 
ferings of the poor, and preach sentimental 
discourses in behalf of some benevolent so- 
ciety — but as for the earnest, practical work 
among the suffering poor, the most of them 

would not touch it, with so much as the 

11^- 



126 COMPLAINT AGAINST NEW THEMES. 

little finger. When we meet an exception 
to these remarks^ we honour him with our 
highest respect. 

CHARITY RECONCILED WITH DEXOMINATIONALISM 
AND THE STABILITY OF SOCIETY — THE FAL- 
LACY IN OUR SYSTEM OF CHARITY. 

But it is proper now^ to make the transition 
to more positive views of our general subject. 
The author of New Themes was much com- 
plained of because his book contained so 
much that was destructive and so little that 
was constructive ; and we think it likely the 
same complaint may be made against this 
humble tract. But the design — and almost 
the sole design — of New Themes, was to 
point out an evil, of whose existence the 
Christian world was almost unconscious. A 
great work is done when a disease, secretly 
consuming the vitals, is discovered, even 
though no remedy be prescribed. But " New 
Themes" indicates the remedy as clearly as 



DESIGN OF NEW THEMES. 127 

he does the disease; the only deficiency was 
the want of suggestions as to the mode of ap- 
plying the remedy^ and that point he pro- 
pounds as one for earnest and immediate 
study. The proper and intended effect of 
the book would have been to set the clergy 
especially to studying the great theme of 
Charity in all its parts. The very reference 
of this subject to the clergy was an indirect 
compliment to their ability, influence^ and 
general Christian spirit. And although, like 
the bear brushing the fly from the nose of his 
mistress, the author laid his hand rather heavy 
upon the clerical countenance, yet at heart 
he evidently had great affection and respect 
for "the Protestant clergy." It is evident, 
from the testimonies the publisher has ap- 
pended to the author's second publication, 
that by no means all of the clergy or laity 
interpreted "New Themes" as, perhaps, the 
majority did. Many had the penetration to 
see that here was a noble Christian mind 
wrestling with a grand theme, and looking 



128 CLERGY BOUND TO CONSIDER. 

anxiously to the clergy for help : and they 
had the magnanimity to overlook the honest 
impatience of the author, and to submit as 
meekly to the lash, which they at least 
partly deserved, as did their lamb-like Sa- 
viour to the lash, which he did not deserve 
at all. For our part, we believe that this 
subject must receive its full develo^Dment 
from the combined studies of clergy and 
laity. Those parts of it which run into le- 
gislation and political economy had best be 
left principally to the laity to evolve the 
principles, which the clergy may, when set- 
tled, accept and make use of. But still the 
chief and central part of the study lies in 
the domain of clerical investigation. The 
whole subject heads in the Bible, and must 
thence be developed and applied. The meta- 
physician has indeed an interesting depart- 
ment of the work. But to him whose pro- 
fession calls him to a minute and constant 
study of the Bible, and to a demonstration 
of all the principles, applications, and ten- 



DENOMINATIONS UNDISTURBED. 129 

dencies of Christianity^ is this subject chiefly 
committed by the very appointment of Christ. 
And it is treason to Christ to thrust the sub- 
ject aside. The whole aspect of Christen- 
dom would be ameliorated in less than a 
generation were the clergy to bring their 
mighty resources to bear upon this neglected, 
forgotten theme. Two great reasons will, 
for a time, render the clergy shy of the sub- 
ject. The one is, the fear that it would 
tend to loosen denominational attachments ; 
the other, that it would jeopard the security 
of property. But a little consideration will 
show them that such fears are wholly ima- 
ginary. Charity, as applied to interdenomi- 
national differences, does not imply a yield- 
ing of any principle or attachment, but sim- 
ply a love in spite of differences, and a rea- 
diness to co-operate in all great enterprises 
which really demand united action. This 
does not imply the yielding of any feature in 
the peculiar denominational policy of any of 



130 RIGHTS OF PROPERTY UNDISTURBED. 

the sects. Such a charity as that would be 
a vice. 

Nor do the demands of charity at all 
unsettle any of the foundations of society. 
The rights of property would really be esta- 
blished the more firmly by the prevalence of 
a proper spirit toward the needy. The rights 
of property are never so insecure as when 
there are large masses of neglected and dis- 
satisfied men^ who have everything to gain, 
and nothing to lose, by an unhingement of 
society. It is astonishing that the wealthy 
classes do not perceive the growing discontent 
of the moneyless millions, and the impossi- 
bility of restraining them by violence. The 
perils lie in leaving things to work on as 
they are now going ; the real hoj)e of secu- 
rity lies in pursuing a course of justice and 
kindness to those who naturally feel them- 
selves to be oppressed, and who will not bear 
a long-protracted exasperation. '' Socialism" 
has gotten to be one of the hobgoblin terms 
to frighten grown-up children with, as if 



CHRISTIAN SOCIALISM. 131 

Christianity does not teach socialism from 
beginning to end. Socialism has no essential 
connexion with any anti-christian idea what- 
soever; it does not mean^ ^Hurn mankind 
into one great _p6?2." We have permitted a 
set of Christ-hating philanthropists to filch 
and appropriate our great Christian idea^ and 
because they contort it^ we have been deny- 
ing Christy just as we did about the "^^ Higher 
Law." We have no sympathy with that 
riff-raff horde of Abolition and Fourierite 
fanatics ; but in the name of all honesty and 
piety^ don't let us disown great Christian 
ideas because fools and knaves turn them 
into their shuttlecocks. 

If ''Love thy neigJibour as thyself is not 
socialism, we have no conception what the 
real meaning of the term is. Face the text, 
reader, like a man, and accept its teaching ! 
Was not Bishop Butler right in his exposi- 
tion of that text ? If he was wrong, why 
has he never been answered ? Why is he 
taught in your colleges ? Now, Bishop But- 



132 CHRISTIAN SOCIALISM. 

ler's sermons are the strongest socialism we 
have ever seen out of the New Testament. 
But do not be alarmed. We are not for a 
"^ re-divide/' although we should make smartly 
by it. We think that such a proceeding 
would be the utmost unkindness of the rich 
to the poor. The first kindness a man can 
do to his neighbour is to keep himself and 
family from being a tax to that neighbour; 
and the second is^ to make that neighbour do 
as he is doing, viz., support himself. But it 
also teaches, that when there is real want, 
which can be relieved in no other way, he is 
to part with all his surplus estate beyond ^^a 
competency." There is no stopping short of 
this interpretation of the words, " Love thy 
neighbour AS thyself." 

Were, however, the proper, wise, and 
broad system pursued, want might be ba- 
nished from society without at all affecting 
the comfort of the wealthy. The mere 
'parings of their luxuries would be sufficient. 
It is possible that even now, in this coun- 



THE CHURCH BEHIND THE PEOPLE. 133 

try the actual expenditure of private and 
public benefactions would go very far to 
secure universal relief were the right system 
pursued. What we complain of in clergy 
and people as to this pointy is not that they 
do nothing for the poor^ but that the whole 
subject is treated in a loose and perfunctory 
manner^ that the things done are rather the 
irrepressible outgoings of the heart in spite 
of the grand deficiencies in our Christian 
systems^ that they are not the outpourings 
of our Christianity as such^ are not the 
fruit of Christian ideas and principles incul- 
cated in pulpit, cr3ed, Christian literature, or 
ecclesiastical enactments, but are che uncon- 
scious, unguided, independent volunteer in- 
stincts of benevolent and generally Christian 
natures, who are charitable to the poor not 
because they are taught to be so, but because 
they cannot help it ; and Ave fearlessly assert 
that so far as churches are doing anything 
in this behalf, it is not by exciting and 
guiding the feelings of the people, but in 

12 



134 CHARITY INDEPENDENT OF THE CHURCH. 

the way of heing led on by the spontaneous 
feelings of their people. On this whole sub- 
ject the Church is following and not leading 
the people. Examine all the eleemosynary 
operations of our city philanthropists^ and 
it will be seen that they are not the carry- 
ing out of any single principle insisted on in 
our ecclesiastical teachings. 

Let our meaning be thus illustrated. AYe 
have before us the Annual Reports of a 
large number of relief societies^ whose ope- 
rations are plied with truly commendable 
zeal in different cities of our country. As 
perhaps one of the very best of these socie- 
ties we select, " The ninth Annual Report 
of the New York Association for improving 
the condition of the poor, for the year 1852, 
with the by-laws and list of members. Organi- 
zed 1843. Incorporated 1848." Here we are 
enabled to view the operations of a powerful, 
truly wise, efficient, and philanthropic asso- 
ciation. But for its work of charity, ii^lio re- 
ceives the glory? God, or man; Christianity 



NOT DONE IN THE NAME OF JESUS. 135 

or the world? Is it done in the name of 
Christ., or of mere human kindness? Chris- 
tian people are among the doers^ and Chris- 
tian impulses are moving them^ but is there 
anything in their constitution or mode of 
visitation and distribution ^ to inform the 
poor^ and to keep it before their minds^ that 
Christ is still on the earth instrumentally^ 
"going about doing good!" When the 
Apostles performed their acts of mercy ;, it 
was "in the name of Jesus of Nazareth/' 
and when^ at Lystra^ the people were about 
to honour them as gods, Paul with horror 
refused the honour, and demanded that 
they should give the glory to God. But 
these humane societies, whilst indeed there 
are occasional references to Scripture, still 
act in their own name; the poor are not 
taught that the " cup of cold water" is given 
in the name of Christ; hence their homage 
of gratitude and honour terminates on the 
immediate donors, instead of being given 
to God! For the same spirit, Herod was 



136 THE CHURCH CHRIST's REPRESENTATIVE. 

eaten of worms! Surely the Christian 
should always remember that "he is not his 
own;, but has been bought with a price^ 
wherefore he should glorify God in his body 
and spirit, which are his." "That he is 
dead;, and his life is hid with Christ in God." 
" That it is no longer he which lives, but 
Christ which liveth in him." And that 
" Christ should be all and in all.'' 

The Church is Christ's abiding represen- 
tative on earth. It is his body! and is 
animated by his Spirit! And hence the 
Church is bound " to walk as he walked^'' " to 
follow Himr She should, as far as possible, 
do for mankind what Christ did, and do it 
as Christ's representative. Such should be 
her lineaments, mien, and movements, that 
the world would "take knowledge of her 
that she has been with Jesus." Does she 
now present the combined aspect of the 
Divine-human ; of the God-man ? Or whilst 
exclusively reproducing the lineaments di- 
vine, is not her aspect deformed, for the want 



DISTINCT PROPOSITION. 137 

of the lineaments human ? Whatever Chris- 
tian people may have privately done^ has not 
the Church quietly handed over the whole 
philanthropic department of Christianity to 
the world ? If (as will be admitted) benefi- 
cence not merely to the poor of the Church, 
but to every suffering neighbour^ is a Chris- 
tian duty, where are the Church's exposi- 
tions of the principles ? The Church is not 
backward in expressing her mind as to the 
countless ^^ commandeth's and forbid deth's" 
of Scripture ; where are her utterances 
which have ever impelled a single scheme 
of general pauper relief? Let us be informed ! 

HINTS AS TO WHAT SHOULD BE DONE! 

Then we would as a distinct proposition 
urge the attention of our ecclesiastical bodies 
to this whole subject. They are free to 
pass resolutions about Temperance, Missions, 
Colonization, and such like causes, why 
may not resolutions be introduced and 

12* 



138 THE CHURCH THE TRUE FOUNTAIN. 

passed recommending Charity to the poor 
and needy generally, as Christian duty ; or 
at least committees be appointed to inves- 
tigate and rejDort on the subject. The true, 
Scriptural principles might thus gradually 
be gotten at and embodied among the au- 
thoritative acts and beliefs of the Church, 
and would be incorporated among all its 
official teachings. So that in time, the sub- 
ject would receive due attention in Theo- 
logical Seminaries, Boards of Publication, 
Eeviews, newspapers, besides the pulpit and 
ecclesiastical proceedings; and then it be- 
comes a part of the organic creed and life of 
the Church. 

When we recommend that the Church 
study out and enunciate and inculcate the 
true Christian principles upon this subject, 
we do not advise that she bring herself only 
corporately in contact with the poor, or that 
she establish a system of agency, by means 
of which the people may discharge their 
obligations to the poor entirely through the 



THEY ALL MADE EXCUSE. 189 

intervention of church officers. Officers in- 
deed must be made use of: but there is no 
more reason why the almsgiving of Chris- 
tians should be done by proxy^ than their 
praying or their church-going. "^^A Lay- 
man" puts on a wise air when he talks 
about most men being too busy with their 
own affairs to be looking personally after 
the condition of the poor. The very same 
reason has sent many a poor soul to 
perdition! It was just such excuses that 
our Saviour anticipated. One must at- 
tend to his land^ and another to his 
oxen^ and another to his newly married 
wife^ and they all pray to be excused ! 
The truth is^ that with a proper system, the 
personal attentions required of each indi- 
vidual would amount to far less than the 
other ordinary duties of the Christian life. 
Perhaps in a large city, a single visit in a 
week or even less to an abode of suffering, 
would be all that would be required of any 
one of those who would be able and wilHng 



140 CHAHITY AN INDIVIDUAL LABOUR. 

to aflford succour. The people have time 
enough to go to houses of feasting; why 
might they not divide this^ and take part for 
visiting houses of suffering? But the com- 
mon way is to send an agent to the house of 
sufferings whilst we go ourselves to the 
house of feasting. There are certainly some 
works of* Christian enterprise which must 
be done by proxy^ such as preaching the 
Gospel in distant places^ and others which 
might be mentioned; but when the work to 
be done lies right on our daily track^ there 
is no reason why all in ordinary circum- 
stances should not take some personal part 
in ameliorating the state of the needy classes^ 
but there is every reason why they should. 
We do not mean to affirm that every indi- 
vidual Christian is bound to enter, habitu- 
ally^ some house or houses of poverty. Ill- 
health, unusual distance, or some other like 
causes, may be a valid reason for omitting 
the duty, just as for omitting other duties, 
such as attending church. But "as far as 



PROXY BENEVOLENCE TO BE AVOIDED. 141 

in them lies/' all should^ in some way^ be en- 
gaged directly in this work. How far the 
great object maybe divided into different de- 
partments^ and those labouring in one be 
excused from labouring in the others^ we need 
not now stop to consider. Such views are 
secondary^ and may be matured^ when the 
primary principle has given its legitimate 
impulse to Christian activity. However the 
statement may need to be modified^ the prin- 
ciple is to our mind clear^ that Christian 
beneficence to the poor neighbour should be 
bestowed personally and individually. 

In the first place^ it is a work requiring 
great tenderness and sympathy^ and agents, 
who do their work for a price rather 
than for love, should not be trusted to exe- 
cute the wishes of donors. The keepers of 
poor-houses (like undertakers), fall into a 
business, unfeeling way of doing their duties ; 
which is wounding and often partial and 
cruel to the objects of their attention. 

But the principal argument for personal 



142 WORKS OF CHARITY IMPROVING. 

attentions to the poor^ lies in the advantage 
it is to the giver's own character. It is a 
good rule to bring the donor as near as pos- 
sible to the object of his benefaction. A 
raere appeal from the pulpit or platform can- 
not develope the charitable feelings^ like an 
actual sight of the misery^ and a direct effort 
at relief 

And in the actual execution of the work 
of personal benevolence^, every valuable 
quality of Christian character is strength- 
ened. It is a self-denying work. To cast a 
contribution into the box brought to the 
hand, or to attend committees and anniver- 
saries, are very trifling exercises of Christian 
self-denial and devotion, compared with 
what is demanded in the weary perambula- 
tions through the street, the contact with 
filth, and often with rude and repulsive peo- 
ple, the facing of disease, and distress, and 
all manner of heart-rending and heart-fright- 
ening scenes, and all the trials of faith, pa- 
tience, and hope, which are incident to the 



THE LIBERAL SOUL MADE FAT. 143 

duty we urge. Such exercises are as essen- 
tial to the development of Christian charac- 
ter, as the strivings of the gymnasium were 
to the development of the gladiator's muscle. 
" Deny thyself and take thy cross/' are the 
Eedeemer's great command : and, unless fol- 
lowed, spiritual effeminacy must result. A 
wise discretion, too, is continually appealed 
to in exercising that discrimination which is 
absolutely and incessantly needed in apply- 
ing charity. And the very difficulties attend- 
ing the duty will drive the Christian to a 
Higher Power, for wisdom and grace. In 
such circumstances, however, religion affords 
to its possessor its choicest pleasures. 
" Christ, who is our life," then invigorates, 
and elevates, and charms the soul with a 
sense of his peculiar presence. All the pro- 
mises of increase, of blessedness, of fatness 
made to the liberal giver, are made good to 
his soul. A calm resting on God, a sense of 
gratitude for his own blessings, a sweet con- 
sciousness of '' doing good," like Christ, many 



144 CHARITY SHOULD BE SYSTEMATIC. 

a blessing from the succoured^ a rich opening 
of the fountains of love in the hearty a fresh 
zest in the duties of religion, a higher appre- 
ciation of the beneficence of Christianity in 
thus visiting wicked man, and wiping away 
his every tear, and pointing him to a com- 
mon Saviour, and to a heritage of eternal 
riches beyond this suffering life — a heritage 
as free to the poor as to the rich : such are 
the present rewards of an imitation of 
Christ. Here, indeed, lies one of the most 
potent of all the means of sanctification. 

Because, however, we advocate personal 
application of one's own benefactions, we do 
not advocate a loose and indiscriminate 
method of doing it. There must be a di- 
viding up of the field of effort, and a thorough 
exploration of every part, and the assigning 
of each case of want to one or more families, 
who will have the case constantly under 
their supervision. Bat these charitable 
efforts, as before intimated, should comprise 
far more than the mere supplying of present 



CHARITY A COMPREHENSIVE WORK. 145 

want. They should be addressed to pro- 
viding roomy dwellings^ finding employment 
for all able to vrork^ providing nurses and 
medical attendants^ to reforming the vicious^ 
educating the young, instructing all in the 
duties of morals and religion ; exhorting and 
praying with families^ giving Bibles and 
other suitable books to such as can read; 
gathering several families together for wor- 
ship and instruction, providing plain houses 
of worship in their neighbourhood — in short, 
simultaneously carrying on every depart- 
ment of effort for the general elevation of 
each district, and doing this not in a fitful 
and disjointed way, but in a systematic man- 
ner, and by keeping the pressure on all the 
time, abandoning no willing subject as hope- 
less. 

To accomplish this thoroughly, there 
must, of course, be officers, teachers, mis- 
sionaries employed to live in the very midst 
of the wretchedness, and to supervise and 
direct all the efforts of the people. And it 

13 



146 THE PRESENT SYSTEM ABOLISHED. 

is just here that the Church ought to connect 
herself directly to the enterprise. The lead- 
ing officers should be appointed by the Church, 
and to the Church should answer, and report : 
but mark you ! these officers are not to stand 
between the giver and receiver, but to bring 
giver and receiver togetlier. While they work 
themselves, they are to be the marshals di- 
recting the individual labours of the people, 
so that there may be no neglect or misappro- 
priation. Under such a sj^stem, if properly 
organized, poor-houses, asylums, and such 
like institutions, would scarcely be needed, 
and had better in the main be dispensed 
with : for, if the poor are taken care of at 
their homes, why need they be sent to hos- 
pitals any more than the rich ! Street-beg- 
ging would cease, and pauperism constantly 
diminish. Infectious diseases would be 
checked, and public order and safety pro- 
moted, and taxation greatly reduced : whilst 
such a spirit would be fostered in the com- 



ADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM. 147 

munity as would promote every desirable 
interest. 

The assertion that such attentions to the 
poor would tend to annihilate effort among 
them to do for themselves, would apply with 
equal force to all relief of indigence ; and if 
it be valid, then all such relief should be 
discontinued. We contend that every con- 
sideration in favour of charity at all, applies 
a fortiori to this scheme of systematized per- 
sonal inspection. In the first place, it tends 
to keep families together, and thus to leave 
every sufferer in the midst of all the associa- 
tions of family and friends, which will of 
itself bring to his aid all those countless assi- 
duities of friendship, which, though costing 
little, are worth a great deal. In the next 
place, no plan could more thoroughly lay 
the whole case of a family bare for inspec- 
tion than this ; and not in a rude and official 
way, but by the queries and observations of 
sympathizing friends. The poor man would 
have as little opportunity for relaxing his 



148 THE OLD SYSTEM INJURIOUS. 

exertions to provide the best he can for his 
family^ as he possibly can have under any 
•system, and far less than under the ordinary 
hasty investigations of occasional visiters. 
And he will be far less disposed to impose 
upon the voluntary and standing friend of 
his family than upon the salaried officer or 
mere casual caller at his door. When there 
are large funds provided — and especially 
when provided by state taxation, and dis- 
bursed by state officers — the effect in foster- 
ing idleness and improvidence among the 
poor is all that it has ever been represented 
to be. The working of the Poor Law Sys- 
tem in England confirms this in a remarka- 
ble manner. But where people are left midst 
all the stimuli of home influence, and their 
real condition fully ascertained by a constant 
observation by the same persons, and they 
placed in a system of traming rather than of 
simple relief, it is impossible for them to de- 
ceive, or for the unworthy to receive more 
than their deservings. And, moreover, this 



THE OLD SYSTEM INJURIOUS. 149 

system would constantly diminish the evil^, 
whilst the ordinary loose way of indiscrimi- 
nate giving on the one hand^ and of rude, 
official disbursing on the other, only multi- 
plies subjects for relief in a rapid ratio, and 
enhances all the evils of pauperism. 

Whilst we are not disposed to speak harshly 
of those who have founded these countless 
eleemosynary institutions in our country, for 
various classes of suffering people, we doubt 
the principle on which they are all founded. 
We do not see why women could not " lie- 
in" better at home than in an hospital, and 
why young women could not be reformed 
at home better than in Magdalen Asylums. 
We fear that the putting of bad women to 
associating with one another, and withdraw- 
ing them from general society, does not pro- 
mise much for their growth in purity. But 
we do not lay particular stress upon this 
point. 

No doubt many persons will hastily dis- 
miss this general plan of operations, because 

13^ 



150 NO REAL OBSTACLES IN THE WAY. 

of certain obvious difficulties in every com- 
munity^ arising from the multiplicity of de- 
nominations overlapping one another^ and 
the numerous societies already at work in 
the field. But these apparent obstacles ra- 
pidly diminish, if they do not entirely vanish, 
when the mind is brought seriously to the 
task of removing them. Of course, the 
work would be much simpler if there were 
but one denomination, or if the different de- 
nominations were locally divided into wards 
or districts. But, taking a larger view of 
charity, we see advantages in this very inter- 
working of denominations on the same 
ground. Christian people are brought into 
a contact calculated to promote the best feel- 
ings among one another. And, in truth, 
there is not much more difficulty in carrying 
out a personal than a local jurisdiction. 
Where one denomination finds a needy fa- 
mily provided for by the members of another 
denomination, there is no more danger of 
unpleasant collision than there now is in 



ALL COULD UNITE ON THE NEW PLAN. 151 

pastoral visitation. There is an etiquette 
growing out of Christian love^ which will 
dispose the labourers harmoniously in their 
appropriate spheres. Each denomination^ 
and each individual churchy would have its 
circle of families, which, by all others, would 
be given up to their exclusive attention. 

The same course of remark applies to the 
general voluntary associations. Whatever 
they do for the families under the care of any 
church may easily be known by that sort of 
constant intercourse which would be kept up 
among the parties concerned, and be sub- 
tracted from what is done by the church. 
Were such a scheme to be generally adopted 
by the churches, the present system of relief 
would be entirely superseded. All the bene- 
volent individuals of a community would act 
with the churches, whether church-members 
or not ; and then there would be abundant 
resources for covering the whole ground and 
accomplishing all that would be needed. In- 
deed, the work could be done well, though 



152 INTEMPERANCE MISMANAGED. 

many churches should fail to enter into the 
scheme. But were the point clearly appre- 
hendedj no church having any evangelic zeal 
could decline its aid. 

INTEMPERANCE MISMANAGED. 

There are many things very shallow in 
^^ Layman's" ^^ Review/' but nothing more so 
than the use he makes of sundry temperance 
statistics. He states the vast amount of 
money expended in Great Britain and the 
United States for intoxicating drinks^ and 
very complacently lays over the most of it 
to the account of the poor — forgetting that 
a Lord Bishop consumes ten times (in value) 
the amount that a poor labourer does^ or that 
the cost of liquors at one dinner of a Walnut 
Street or Fifth Avenue Christian would 
enable a poor man to keep himself drunk 
for a twelvemonth. We are fully satisfied 
that far more dissipation exists in the higher 
than in the lower classes of society. A 



THE DRUNKARD NOT TO BE ABANDONED. 153 

mustached young buck will often swallow 
more strong drink than an Irish drayman. 

But suppose the poor do drink large quan- 
tities of liquor^ shall they for that cause go 
off the list of our charitable endeavours? 
Do they then cease to be oitr neighbours? 
You might just as well cast them off for any 
other vice. The wives and children of the 
drunkard are certainly not to be left to 
misery and starvation^ and all the worst fea- 
tures of poverty be left to reproduce themselves 
indefinitely, because the head of the family 
turns himself into a brute. And does not 
the case of the poor drunkard himself make 
a special appeal, from the very fact that he 
is the slave of vice as well as of poverty — 
an appeal not so much to the pocket as to 
the earnest moral efforts of the virtuous — 
for his radical reform? We despise such 
flippant, self-complacent apologies as this, for 
snubbing the appeals of erring humanity. 
The mere fact of a poor man drinking beer 
or whiskey is no more against him than the 



154 DRUNKENNESS NOT STRANGE. 

rich man's drinking of wine or brandy is 
against him. And when we consider his 
education^ his troubles^ and evil associations^ 
we can scarcely wonder that his tippling 
should end in drunkenness 5 and this phari- 
saical tone of contempt toward him is the 
very way to goad him to a moral reckless- 
ness, which must end in the destruction of 
all his hopes for both worlds. 

We are persuaded that this is not the 
spirit of Christianity^ nor is it the way to 
diminish the evil which thus excommuni- 
cates the victim from the pale of the human 
brotherhood. Were Christ now on earthy 
and were a party of our modern Pharisees 
to drag up some drunken pauper to be con- 
demned by him^ he would say to his accusers^ 
^^Let him that is without sin among you 
cast the first stone ;" and when he found the 
drunkard alone^ he w^ould go kindly to him 
and tell him^ as he did the adulterous woman^ 
to " go and sin no more." 

The text from Paul's Epistle to the Co- . 



PAUL MISUNDERSTOOD. 155 

rinthianSj ''- If a man will not work^ neither 
shall he eat/' is often quoted to prove that 
those who persist in idleness^ whether from 
intemperance or mere indolence, should be 
entirely forsaken. We cannot believe that 
such was the intent of the Apostle. He was 
not referring to paupers in the community at 
large, but to certain idle busybodies in the 
Church of Corinth, who went about quarter- 
ing themselves on their fellow-professors. To 
this class Paul meant to administer a stern 
rebuke, and in so doing, enunciated a prin- 
ciple undoubtedly correct, and to be follow- 
ed as a rule. But we think he meant to 
express the ill-deserving of the idle rather than 
the duty of withholding food from him. If 
a man will not work when he is able, he does 
not deserve to have food. Every reader of 
the Bible, and indeed of any book, is aware 
that many an unqualified declaration is to 
be taken with certain implied modifications. 
For example, " The soul that sinneth, it shall 
die." Here is asserted, without qualification, 



156 NO MAN TO BE ABANDONED. 

an inviolable connexion between sin and 
death^ and yet the Gospel informs us of 
another principle^ whereby the soul that sin- 
neth may live. The laws of human brother- 
hoodj and the spirit of Christianity as ex- 
hibited in the New Testament^ seem to forbid 
the idea that any man should be given over 
by his fellow-men to hopeless starvation and 
moral obduracy. To turn the back upon the 
drunkard because he is not easily reformed, 
or to give over to neglect any man, whatever 
be the depth of his depravity, is not only to 
consign him practically to perdition, but it is 
to admit a want of faith in the all-sufficiency 
of Christian influences. It is to say that 
charity may fail ; that here are devils which 
even Christ cannot expel. But what right 
have we to set bounds to the instrumental 
power of Christian influences ? Are we not 
bound to keep the wretch alive, if it be for 
no other reason than to respite him thus long 
from hell ? And should we not continue to 
ply him with the tenderest ministrations of 



INTEMPERANCE MALTREATED. 157 

Christianity^ and to follow him to the darkest 
haunts of his debauchery^ and above the din 
of the midnight revelry cry^ ^^ Behold the 
Lamb of God — heJiold — behold !" and never 
resign the hope that God may bless our at- 
tentions to the miserable creature as long as 
he is this side of eternity ? 

It is to be feared that the true mode of 
dealing with the whole subject of intempe- 
rance is yet to be discovered. The gigantic 
efforts of temperance advocates have not pro- 
duced^ and are not likely to produce^ results 
at all proportioned to this vast expenditure. 
Such efforts are like pumping a leaky ves- 
sel. An impression is produced for the time, 
but the moment the efforts cease, things 
begin to return to their former swamped 
condition, unless some real diversion of the 
current is accomplished. Prohibitory legis- 
lation will be only a temporary barrier to 
the tide which presently will rise over it 
and sweep it off as the swelling river does 
the levee Avhich lines its shores. This 

14 



158 LAWS DO NOT CHANGE MEN. 

whole principle which depends upon pro- 
hibitory legislation to reform evils which 
grow directly out of the depraved heart of 
man, is fatally wrong. Law is valuable 
in reformijig the offender^ only so far as 
it for a time holds him in check whilst 
positive measures are ^resorted to which 
change his nature, or at least divert his 
tastes into better channels. Merely to 
snatch the bottle out of the drunkard's hand 
does not of itself tend to make a better man 
of him. It exasperates him, drives him to 
stealthy and mean ways of still gratifying 
his passion, or else causes a diversion of the 
tide of lust into worse avenues of crime. 
Especially will this be the case with those 
laws which practically make a distinction 
between rich and poor. The anti-liquor 
law lays but a slight check on the self-indul- 
gence of the rich, whilst the poor must 
either leave off the habit, or (as will more 
likely be the case) debase himself yet more 
to secure what he craves. Let us not be 
understood as opposing prohibitory legisla- 



CLASS LEGISLATION. 159 

tiori upon this and other evils. But we 
wish to see laws which will bear equally; 
and more than this^, we wish to see corre- 
sponding and even more prompt and vigor- 
ous efforts addressing themselves to the 
radical reform of the class of drinkers. 
Much of the drinking among the lower 
classes, results from the paucity of their re- 
sources for enjoyment. The wealthier and 
more intelligent classes of the community 
have many modes of diversion for their lei- 
sure hours which the poor do not enjoy. 
Eiding, strolling through the day, travel- 
ling, visiting, examining new and strange 
sights, reading, listening to lectures, music, 
painting, attending concerts, family games, 
luxuries of the table, and the whole range 
of innocent amusements — these in a great 
measure are denied to the poor by the force 
of circumstances; and in the place of them 
he finds within his reach, and the range of 
his intelligence and taste, diversions which 
are in the main debasing. Having to 



160 AMUSEMENTS OF THE POOR. 

labour all day, his spare time lies in the 
night and in the Sabbath. The places most 
accessible to him are the theatre^ the circus^ 
the cock-pit, the dog-ring, the bowling-alley, 
the gaming-house, the fire-company, the 
society of the cast-ofi* and diseased " strange 
women," and the ubiquitous grog-shop. 
And when Sunday comes, he must lie in stu- 
por, to recover his exhausted strength, or he 
must embrace this, his only opportunity, of 
making visits and excursions. Unless a 
healthful moral influence has pervaded his 
home and his heart, he feels no attraction 
sufficient to retain him in the family circle, 
in spite of the seductive influences with- 
out. And usually the mischief is done ere 
the poor man has become the head of a 
family. From his earliest youth he had 
been familiar with vice in every form, and 
as he grew up, his associations only harden- 
ed him in evil. 

But there are many young men, of even 
pious parents, who, scarcely knowing how 



RADICAL CHANGE NEEDED. 161 

else to spend their evenings^ drop into the 
tavern^ where are always to be found a 
^good fire^ the newspapers of the day^ an 
opportunity to smoke^ a squad of jovial 
companions with whom they can talk over 
the news and indulge in a merry laugh, to 
pay for which, they feel bound to get some- 
thing at the bar. And thus commences 
a life of dissipation. But the mere rob- 
bing them of the comforts of an evening 
smoke and chat at the bar-room fire, will not 
reform them, nor save others from ruin in 
a different form. Other places of tempta- 
tion will multiply, and perhaps the last state 
of the youth will be worse than the first. 

RADICAL CHANGE IN THE HABITS AND TREAT- 
MENT OF THE POOR. 

The design of these remarks is to signify 
that the philanthropist should make it a 
subject of special study to determine how 
the poor may be provided with an innocent, 

14* 



162 WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR THE POOR. 

improving^ and interesting mode of spend- 
ing their leisure hours. Of course as Chris- 
tianity is made to pervade the lower stra- 
tum of society^ home will become more 
attractive to the poor man^ and his thoughts 
will easily and improvingly find employ- 
ment in the themes and duties of morality 
and religion. But we hope that some 
means of immediate application may be 
fallen upon w^hich will prove auxiliary to 
the higher end. We have nothing of 
striking character to propose. How far 
night schools^ kept up by the influence of 
the special missionary visitation, free read- 
ing and conversation rooms, lyceums, free 
musical entertainments, lectures of a prac- 
tical character on common things open to 
all, free exhibitions of curious and interest- 
ing objects and experiments, street lecturing 
and preaching, might be advantageously 
employed, we do not venture an opinion. 
Nothing, however, seems to us to promise 
so much in improving the ordinary habits 
of the poor (next to a change of heart) as 



SOCIAL INTERCOURSE. 163 

the promotion of social intercourse among 
families. Whatever contributes to develope 
the social affections improves the character^ 
sobers and refines the taste, imparts a fond- 
ness for those enjoyments which after all 
are unequalled among the things of earth in 
imparting true, soul-satisfying comfort. God 
has wisely and kindly ordained it, that man 
should find his most precious sources of 
enjoyment nearest to him. Were the heart 
only trained aright, a man would never take 
to the street or the crowded assembly from 
a mere dissatisfied craving. And when 
drawn out by circumstances, his heart 
would still gravitate homeward, and when 
there, repose in sweet equilibrium. In the 
promotion of such a state of things, it may 
not be best to begin at the very core of the 
object. Much more might be done, by pro- 
moting a general neighbourhood sociality, 
than by applying the efforts directly to pro- 
mote family affection. It is often the case 
that family affection lies almost dormant 



164 THE RICH MUST CONDESCEND. 

until a tapping of the heart from without 
causes a reaction inward. Awaken in the 
breast of man a pure love for any object^ 
and you send a softening and sweetening 
influence through all his relations. 

Now in this general work of promoting a 
love for quiet^ social enjoyments^ the higher 
classes have an unlimited power in their 
hands. If^ instead of ever seeking higher 
and higher associations^ they would in part 
in social matters, '' condescend to men of low 
estate/' as did their Pattern, they might 
exert a vast and most elevating influence. 
When they make a feast, let them not 
always bid the rich and great, but let them 
go out sometimes and bring in the people of 
the highways and hedges. We are fully 
aware of the difficulty of inducing the peo- 
ple even of republican lands to overstep the 
defined barriers of caste ; but we are sure 
that it must be done far more than it 
is, before a Christian spirit is exemplified 
in the world, and before Christianity can 



ALL MUST J^EET SOCIALLY. 165 

fulfil her mission. ^^The rich and poor 
must meet togetlier^ for the Lord is Maker 
of them all/' — they must meet socially^ 
as well as at church. It is admitted that 
coarseness is not agreeable to a refined 
mind; but not insisting on the fact that 
wealth is no fit meter of refinement^ we 
maintain the duty of submitting to such 
uncongenialities^ for the sake of improving 
the character and happiness of your less cul- 
tivated neighbour. If you possess superior 
social cultivation, a true Charity requires 
that you shall communicate of it to him w^ho 
has less. Christian people are far too solici- 
tous about their social standing, are far too 
sensitive about being thought to have vul- 
gar associations. Were Christ to appear 
this day upon earth, and move among the 
same sort of people he associated generally 
with when here, many of his professed fol- 
lowers would feel greatly scandalized, and 
would scarcely feel like inviting him into 
their houses, with his gang of shabby dis- 



166 SOCIAL AMBITION REVERSED. 

ciples. The Church has much yet to learn 
of the significancy there was m Jesus Christ 
selectmg the poor and despised for his inti- 
mate associates. We know of no way of 
expressing our idea on this point so clearly 
as by sayings that socially Christians must 
come to an "ahout face?' Instead of look- 
ing to those above them^ in order that they 
may be lifted onward and upward^ they 
must look backward upon those below them 
to see how they can help them upward and 
onward. He that finds in himself a disposi- 
tion to be greatest^ should at once become the 
servant of all. '^^Be not high-minded^ but 
condescend to men of low estate/' has in it a 
world of rebuke to modern Christians^ and a 
world of regenerating power if attended to. 
The great social want is the cement of 
love applied to the crevices in the frame- 
work of society — some of which even now 
are yawning and portentous. The scale of 
gradation is too long^ and its degrees too irre- 
gular. But one of the least considered^ yet 



RECIPROCAL DUTIES OF RICH AND POOR. 167 

most important^ of all questions^ is what 
should be the reciprocal bearing of those two 
distant grades of capitalist and labourer, when 
brought together, in the relation of employer 
and employee, of master and servant, or of 
manufacturer and '' hand," and all those 
cases in which labour is controlled by money. 
We refer not merely to the matter of wages 
— although a very important subject — but to 
the tone of intercourse between them ; espe- 
cially the duties incumbent on the employer. 
We need popular instruction upon this very 
point. Nearly one-half of society is placed 
anent the other half in this relation. It is 
seen in almost every family, every store, every 
shop, every factory, every farm. But how loose 
and undefined are our common ideas upon 
this subject, and hence, how irregular and 
defective are the reciprocal duties of the par- 
ties. How few employers are even kind and 
just. How very few admit that they are 
under any farther obligations to their la- 
bourers than to fulfil the pecuniary contract 



168 THE POWER OF THE EMPLOYER. 

between them. The higher obligations in- 
volved in the relation^ are not understood or 
studied. But certainly such influence as the 
employer has over his labourers^ ought to be 
made the means of moral good to the latter. 
The household should be a school of improve- 
ment to the servants. The manufactory 
should be pervaded by an invigorating pro- 
cess of intellectual and moral improvement; 
and if a system of direct religious teaching 
and worship be practicable^ so much the bet- 
ter. But a humane head to such an esta- 
blishment has a powerful lever for lifting 
the entire mass of his labourers and their 
families. Christ's presence should be felt and 
acknowledged everywhere. If we are not 
prepared with detailed suggestions upon this 
important class of topics, it is because the 
whole field is yet unexplored ; and the fact 
that we cannot do it^ only demonstrates the 
necessity for others to take up the subject. 

Before leaving the " New Themes/' we 
simply advert to the fact, that we have seen 



INDIRECT MEANS. 169 

no attempted reply to the author's argument 
from the practice of the early Church. We 
shall not reiterate what he says upon the 
subject^ but it is our impression that he has 
stated the facts of history truly : and how 
their force is evaded we cannot conceive^ 
except in the supposition, of a determina- 
tion not to be convinced^ or even moved to 
inquiry. 

INDIRECT MEANS.- — A LITERATURE FOR 
THE POOR. 

Let it not be supposed that our duty to the 
poor is finished when we have given our 
direct efforts for the amelioration of their 
condition. In many more general and indU 
rect ways may their welfare be promoted. 
Their cause must be studied and pleaded be- 
fore the world, their rights as men must be 
secured to them, the causes of poverty must 
be studied and removed, as far as possible, and 
their interests be allowed an equal share in 
legislation with those of the rich. 

15 



170 LITERATURE FOR THE POOR. 

Perhaps one of the first efforts^ of a general 
character^ which should be attended to^ is 
the providing of a suitable literature for the 
poor. Let any one consider the matter^ and 
he will see, that whilst there are books in 
abundance calculated for parents, children, 
for philosophers, politicians. Christians, sin- 
ners, infidels, for people of taste and imagi- 
nation, for critics and scholars, — there are 
almost none, in our country, at least, written 
with an eye to a special adaptation to the 
w^ants, trials, comforts, and general peculiari- 
ties of those in the poorer classes of society ; 
and no efforts made to secure and circulate 
such works. This is really as distinct and 
peculiar a class as any. It is easy to see that 
most books contemplate men in some par- 
ticular aspect ; and in the selection and 
treatment of his subject, the author is seek- 
ing to adapt himself to the mind and views 
and circumstances of those for whom he is 
writing. Many books are written which the 
poor may read with interest, but it is be- 



LITERATURE FOR THE POOR. 171 

cause of their feeling some want met^ which 
they have in common with other chisses of 
society — not because it meets their case as 
poor people. It is easy to imagine how they 
would be repelled by books written in bad 
taste^ though meant for them. But the suc- 
cess of such books as '' The American Me- 
chanic," by Dr. James W. Alexander^ indi- 
cates the demand for such books, and the 
possibility of making them as popular as 
they are appropriate. 

It is easy to understand why there are not 
more such books. There is much more eclat 
and much more profit, of a mercenary 
kind, in writing for the rich. It requires 
self-denial to write for the poor, just as 
it does to visit the poor, and preach the 
Gospel to them. And generally, in the 
world, they have been considered as a sort 
of dead incumbrance on society, which was 
to be tolerated onl}', and made to keep out 
of the way as much as possible. Not only 
should a literature for the poor be written, 



172 LITERATURE FOR THE POOR. 

but means should be taken to promote its 
circulation among those for whom it is de- 
signed. The poor have not the opportunity 
of studying catalogues^ and perambulating 
among book-stores^ nor have they usually 
much avidity for reading; but were their 
attention called to a literature which came 
home to their daily experience, they would 
soon resort to books as a solace and an 
amusement. The poor who have some taste 
for readings frequently find their zeal chilled 
by the very difficulty of finding suitable 
books, and the liability, almost certainty, of 
getting unsuitable books. In a visit we once 
paid to the house of a worthy drayman, we 
found a copy of Hugh Miller's '' Footprints 
of the Creator" — which he said he had 
purchased because he liked the title, but 
which he soon found was no book for him ; 
and there his dollar lay a dead loss. On 
the other hand, we once were conversing 
with an humble Irishman, who had a num- 
ber of books in his dwelling, but seemed to 



LITERATURE FOR THE POOR. 173 

have been satisfied with but one (besides 
his cherished Bible). That one he had 
read over and over^ and always with tears. 
It contained the narrative of a poor boy^ 
who had set out early to seek an indepen- 
dent livelihood, and whose struggles are all 
related — and said he, with a voice tremulous 
with emotion, " Although I am now the 
father of grown children, and am in better 
circumstances, yet that poor boy's struggles 
were so much like my own early history, 
that I am carried back to my youth, and 
weep over all that boy's sorrows more than I 
ever did over my own." The title of the book, 
we think, was, '^ The Young Man away 
from Home." It spoke to the poor man's 
experience ; and such is the kind of writings 
we want written, selected out, and systema- 
tically circulated, among the class for whom 
they are designed. And we know not why 
there might not be a periodical literature of 
the same class — studiously adapted to the 
poor. Associations, free congregational libra- 



174 SHUT UP TO THE FAITH. 

rieS; colporteurs^ could easily accomplish their 
circulation. 



ANOTHER TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY. 

In our author's second puhlication, enti- 
tled^ '^' Politics for American Christians/' he 
presents us with some profound and original 
views upon a number of indirect means of 
ameliorating the condition of the lower 
classe;^. He is a man^ as is easily seen^ tho- 
roughly conversant with the whole ground 
of Political Economy ; and there is something 
sublime and inspiring in the sight of such a 
scholar and thinker finding himself baffled 
in every other direction^ and at last finding 
the only possible solution to the great ago- 
nizing questions of national interest, in the 
application of the principles of the Bible, and 
bringing his whole science, and all his accu- 
mulations of thought, and all the precious 
interests they involve, and casting them 
down at the foot of the cross ! 



NEW TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY. 175 

Attend to his language. 

^^We believe that the whole problem of 
human destiny in this world is fully com- 
mitted to the consideration of Christians. 
Believing^ as we do^ that the light of Chris- 
tianity must shine upon every investigation 
intended to explore the hidden path to human 
happiness^ we think that such explorations 
can only he successful in the hands of Chris- 
tians^'' (p. 10.) This appears to us like the 
heralding of a new triumph of Christianity ! 
Heretofore^, if Political Economy has not been 
anti-christian^ it has at least been unchris- 
tian. It set up to solve its own questions 
without help ; but it has struggled long and 
inefficiently^ and now^ like many other un- 
christian and anti-christian sciences^ it has at 
last been ^^shut up to the faith." What a 
standing miracle is the Bible ! 

We do not forget that men often profess 
much reverence for Christianity^ whose views 
of the system really would render Christianity 
a nullity. But the author of New Themes 



176 ORTHODOXY SAFE. 

is not one of these. He not only receives 
Christianity as a revelation from God^ but 
receives the orthodox interpretations of it^ 
and proposes no changes which will disturb 
any feature in what is called evangelic or- 
thodoxy. Attend again to his language; 
and it is presumed that no one v/ho has read 
his writings will feel a doubt of his sincerity : 
" It may cost many years of effort and in- 
quiry to occupy a position which will afford 
a full view of the subject (viz.^ Christianity 
in its human relations)^ the complications of 
which are enough to deter any but the most 
resolute. It cannot be done without severe 
mental discipline and painful struggles^ for 
many things have to be unlearned. But it 
costs no sacrifice of orthodoxy. On the con- 
trary, it would vindicate orthodoxy from 
much for which it should never have been 
responsible ; it will afford a clearer view of 
the elementary doctrines of Christianity than 
can be had in any other way. This view 
must be attained with one hand toward Di- 



CAUSE OF GRATITUDE. 177 

vinity^ the other toward Humanity^ an open 
Bible before the eyes^ a heart raised to God 
for the enlightening influences of His Holy 
Spirit^ and with a devout looking^ not only 
to Christ our atoning Saviour, but to Christ 
our Lawgiver, our T-eacher, our Great Ex- 
emplar — not less to be heeded and obeyed than 
to be accepted and worshipped. This method 
of inquiry will exalt Christianity above all 
former estimation, by exhibiting its fitness 
and applicability, not only to save men in 
eternity, but to save them from a vast sum 
of misery, wickedness, and oppression, in 
this world; thus increasing their grounds 
for gratitude to God, and leaving them time 
and opportunity to prepare for Heaven." 

Without pretending to coincide with the 
author in every sentiment which he has 
written, we yet express our deep conviction 
when we say that the evangelic portion of 
Christendom have great reason to thank Pro- 
vidence that this whole subject has been 
committed, not only to such able, but to such 



178 INFIDEL REFORMERS. 

safe and friendly hands as the author of 
New Themes. Carlyle^ ScheUing, Parker^ 
Emerson^ Greely^ writers in the Westminster 
Review^ and such like^ write on the same 
" themes ;" but the improvements they pro- 
pose involve not only the razing to the earth 
of the old structure of orthodox theology, 
but the improvement of Christianity itself — 
which, of course, would end in the entire 
abnegation of all revelation. And many of 
their ideas are so sympathizing toward suffer- 
ing humanity, that the only way for ortho- 
doxy to maintain its hold upon the popular 
mind, is for some Moses to smite the rock, 
and cause the waters of love to flow out to 
the famishing people. We trust that such 
a prophet will ere long be raised up. 

To prevent misapprehension, it may as 
well be said here, that the present writer 
does not pretend to be the peculiar exponent 
of the views of the author of New Themes, 
who was never known to the writer, even by 



UNION^ BUT NOT COMPROMISE. 179 

report^ until the appearance of the aforesaid 
book. 



UNIONj BUT NOT COMPROMISE. 



As the author acknowledges, many of the 
questions which he propounds are as yet un- 
solved, because they have not received ear- 
nest attention in the right quarters ; and to 
him who approaches them for the first time, 
they seem entangled with a multitude of 
perplexities. Perhaps one of the most deli- 
cate and difficult of all is, how Christians 
may most efficiently act together, whilst yet 
maintaining a due loyalty to their respective 
denominations. 

This is not a new question, viewed sepa- 
rately. There have always been men, and 
bodies of men, among our Protestant deno- 
minations, who lamented the divided aspect 
of Protestant Christendom, and who proposed 
and attempted to carry out various schemes 
for securing united action on such platforms 



180 EFFECT OF UNION SOCIETIES. 

as the mass of them could agree to stand 
together upon. This proceeded upon the 
eclectic system of picking out articles of be- 
lief which all would subscribe^ and incorpo- 
rating them into a narrow creed^ around 
which they gathered a sort of liberal^ inde- 
pendent church. Gradually it was found^. 
firsts that the people were gathering around 
the new eclectiC;, or perhaps we should say 
catholic^ churchy and losing their attachment 
to the peculiarities of their own denomina- 
tional beliefs. If their pastors and leading 
laymen could agree to carry on the whole 
work of spreading the Gospel in all its parts 
on the basis of a creed an inch long, they 
could not see why the same inch-long creed 
would not do for the Gospel at home ; and 
so they were fast getting up a sort of con- 
tempt for their peculiar denominational ideas, 
until ere long they would have been willing 
to knock down all line-fences, and form one 
very big Church with one very little creed. 
And the next step in their progress would 



THE TRUTH AND THE WHOLE TRUTH. 181 

have been to wonder why Paul discussed 
such useless doctrines as election, and why 
there was any room left to doubt about the 
mode of baptism and parity of the ministry — 
from which wonderings the transition would 
be easy to a dispensing with all such unne- 
cessary doctrines and practices, and finally, 
going past Quakerism, they would find them- 
selves shaking hands with the said Parker, 
Carlyle, Westminster Eeview & Co. 

As we set out for a plain talk, we take 
leave to say that we are not one of the 
advocates of a charity which goes for com- 
promise of principle in anything, least of all 
in the direct work of spreading the Gospel 
of eternal life. We dare not go to practising 
homoeopathy on men's souls, although we 
have considerable respect for the system in 
its proper relations. The Bible contains 
our materia medica and our pharmacopoeia, 
and we advocate a strict following of direc- 
tions; one of which requires a declaration of 
the whole counsel of God. 

16 



182 TRUE PLAN OF UNION. 

And reserving the privilege of modifying 
our views when cause is seen to do so, we 
venture the opinion that the union of Chris- 
tian denominations had better be informal 
than organized. However much the system 
of compromise platforms may be necessary 
to the success of a party, it is not in our 
judgment a very honest system, or at all 
favourable to the free progress of the truth. 
Christianity is shingled over with too many 
platforms and organizations now. They 
impede union and cordiality. The attempt 
to frame a set of articles for the great Evan- 
gelical Alliance did more to repel denomina- 
tions from each other, than any effort of 
the nineteenth century. Men will often 
rise in favour of some particular scheme of 
action, and will act together heartily and 
harmoniously until they are asked to say, 
*^^ Shibboleth," and then their pious impulses 
are chilled by the uprising of diverging re- 
membrances, and they will not say " Shib- 
boleth." The most of men are averse to 



CHARITY NOT TO BE PAMPERED. 183 

signing papers. They voluntarily say and 
do many things^ which they will not for- 
mally bind themselves to say and do. It is 
often the case that the finest impulses are 
annihilated by the preliminary hewing and 
tinkering at a " Plan of Union/' so that by 
the time the machinery is completed^ there 
is no steam to drive it onwards. Creeds 
and constitutions have their place^ and un- 
fortunately cannot be dispensed with, but 
as far as is at all consistent with stability 
we are for leaving the Christian feelings to 
play unimpeded. 

Hence we believe that if the whole sub- 
ject of charity, in its primary sense, were 
taken up and worked out by the denomina- 
tions severally, then there would be a spon- 
taneous co-operation in all common enter- 
prises. If, for example, any one started a 
good suggestion, such as a movement in 
behalf of Sabbath observance, it would be 
laid hold of promptly by all, acted upon, so 
far as might be demanded, in church courts, 



184 SUBLIME RESULTS OF CHARITY. 

advocated by pulpit and press^ and if need 
be^ brought before public meetings of Chris- 
tians of all sects ; not under a certain section 
of a certain defined constitution^ but under 
the demand of a spontaneous Christian im- 
pulse, wishing to express itself at that par- 
ticular time in that particular way, without 
any other platform than the idea then 
before the mind. No forming of associa- 
tions at present among different denomina- 
tions would avail anything. The work 
must begin deeper; it must begin in the 
radical ideas of the mind and the deep feel- 
ings of the heart: then will its influences 
come working up and working out into all 
and through all, the doings and sayings and 
departments of life. Then shall we realize 
that sublime spectacle of men of adverse 
creeds meeting together, principle and love 
kissing each other — then, without a particle 
of sacrifice of individual belief shall we see 
Christianity presenting a consistent aspect, 
making upon society a consistent impression, 



CHRISTIANITY AND GOVERNMENT. 185 

all her diversities covered by an all-encom- 
passing charity^ as the inequalities in the 
body of the star are concealed within the 
pavilion of light which surrounds it. 

Such a charity as this will likewise 
greatly facilitate the progress of truth^ not 
only in the world at large^ but among 
Christians themselves. It is the harsh 
mode of stating and advocating a truth 
which often repels the auditor and drives 
him into heresy. When the suaviter in 
modo is combined with the fortiter in re^ 
the truth sinks into the mind^ as the gentle 
rain does into the loosened soil. Love 
softens the ground for the good seed. 

• CHRISTIANITY AND GOVERNMENT. 

As this paper has already far exceeded 
the limits designed by the writer^ it is with 
great reluctance that we make any further 
allusion to the important topics in '' Politics 
for American Christians." This part of the 

16^ 



186 RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT. 

field is ample and almost untrodden. Chris- 
tian people having in the whole history of 
the Churchy had so little opportunity to 
exercise their calm judgments about the 
proper influence of Christianity in govern- 
ment^ the right principles are yet to be 
clearly defined. Our American Voluntary 
System being a reaction from the Establish- 
ment System of Europe^ we have made the 
divorce between Christianity and the state 
too entire. Our author^ in this volume 
brings not only Political Economy in gene- 
ral; but government; legislation^ politics^ 
entire, and places them likewise, at the feet 
of Jesus ! (By this time the reader begins 
to suspect that he is not such an "infideV 
after all.) B[e shows that in government 
there is necessarily a moral and religious 
element. The awful sanctions of religion 
are acknowledged to be necessary to imj)art 
dignity and power to all the leading affairs 
of government. This necessity has always 
been felt in every government, since the 



GOVERNMENT A MEANS NOT AN END. 187 

days of Polybius^ and before. Not only so^ 
but there is a large class of immoralities 
which are so detrimental to the public weal 
that they are proper subjects of prohibitory 
legislation^ and that as to this whole class 
of appropriate legislative materials^, the peo- 
ple of a Christian land have a right to insist 
that Christian morality shall guide the legis- 
lator. And for our part^ we see not why 
Christian people may not demand any law 
which they think would conduce to the 
public good. We do not regard govern- 
ment as the master but as the servant of 
society; not as a teacher but a pupil. And 
the people of society are bound to apply the 
principles of the Bible as far as possible in 
instructing the government. We hear of 
what is the province of government^ as if it 
had any other province than to subserve 
the wishes of the people. Constitutions are 
only expressions of the will of the people at 
the time of framing it^ and are liable to be 
altered whenever the public good may 



188 THE GENERAL GOOD. 

demand an alteration. We do not believe 
in the infallibility of a political constitution, 
any more than we do in the infallibility of 
a church creed. Constitutions are made for 
man, not man for constitutions. But we 
begin thus high, not because we desire the 
least alteration in the constitution of our 
country, but to express strongly our convic- 
tion of the fact that the people ought to feel 
that they have a right to make any sort of 
government and laws they think best for 
the general good. 

This general good would, of course, ex- 
clude the passage of laws enforcing any sys- 
tem of religious faith on the people, for that 
would be the violation of a principle, emi- 
nently conducive to the general good, viz. : 
that men ought to be left free to worship 
God as they think right, provided, in so 
doing, they do not disturb others. But, if 
men, in professing to follow their conscience, 
interfere with the order and security of so- 
ciety, or manifestly corrupt public morals. 



AN UNTRODDEN FIELD. 189 

then the public weal demands that they 
should be arrested in their course. In busi- 
ness^ too^ it is a good general principle^ that 
all should be allowed to exert themselves 
unrestrained^ until it is proved that their 
course damages the public welfare ; then 
they should be stopped. And so as to social 
habits^ public amusements^ &c. — they should 
not be allowed to disturb or injure the com- 
munity. Where the dividing line runs be- 
tween Christian morality^ as such^, and go- 
vernment duty^ no man can point out. It 
must be left to the decision of a free people^ 
through their representatives. But a glance 
must convince any one that here is a field of 
observation and action^ of vast importance^ 
which has been almost wholly neglected. 
The people do not watch the legislatures 
with a Christian eye ; and hence^ our repre- 
sentatives do not feel the stringency of a 
united Christian sentiment bearing upon 
them. And in this negligence of the Chris- 
tian public^ is found the cause of the loose 



190 CHRISTIANS RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRUPTION. 

morality^ which is a fearful characteristic of 
this whole department of society. The 
demagogue feels scarcely restrained at all^ in 
his unprincipled struggles to secure his elec- 
tion ; or in his wasting of time and public 
money; or passing immoral laws^ or neglect- 
ing to pass such laws as the public interest 
demands. When Christian people complain 
of corruption among politicians^ and of bad 
legislation^ they should remember that the 
sin lies at the door of the Christian public, 
who are asleep, as a mass, with regard to 
this whole subject. There never has been a 
time when the Christian influence was not 
strong enough in the country to carry any 
measure, they would vigorously unite to 
urge. It is so this day. Hence, the Chris- 
tian people of this land are really responsible 
for their corruptions and omissions, which 
are often complained of The account our 
author gives of the terrible venality of the 
Congress of the United States, is doubtlessly 
even below the truth, although he tells us 



GOV. MCDOWELL. 191 

enough to make us blush and shudder. We 
once heard the late Gov. McDowell say^, 
whilst standing in the Eotunda of the Capitol 
at Washington^ '-' If the people of the country 
could be suddenly informed of the corruptions 
practised by their representatives^ in this 
house^ they would rise^ en masse^ and^ moved 
by one simultaneous impulse^ raze this build- 
ing to itsfoundationS; and bury all beneath its 
ruins !" It is cause of rejoicing that one has 
been found to lay open the hideous ulcer to 
public gaze. The people should not have 
permitted these things to be hidden from 
them thus long : and now that they are in- 
formed of it^ they should lose no time in 
redressing the evil. Let every representa- 
tive be studied^ and if he be lacking in inte- 
grity^ let him never again set foot in the 
halls of legislation. 

It was to be anticipated that persons would 
condemn such views as these^ under the influ- 
ence of the popular prejudices against '^^Church 
and State." But let us have done with cant ; 



192 GOVERNMENT CHAPLAINS. 

and bring our minds honestly and vigor- 
ously to bear upon this subject. Does the 
voluntary system of religion demand that 
government shall appropriate no moneys 
whatsoever for direct religious purposes ? 
Then why do the people sit quietly under 
the Governmental Chaplaincy System — to 
support which large appropriations are an- 
nually made out of the public treasury? 
'' Out of thine own mouth do I condemn 
thee." Man with a conscience ! If such be 
your principle^ why sit still while every ship 
in the Navy bears a minister of the Gospel^ 
paid by government — whilst West Point 
Academy has its government chaplain^ and 
the two Houses of Congress have each their 
chaplain ! But if you admit the propriety 
of such religious provision^ by government, 
for its own servants, why arrest it here ! 
Why not appoint chaplains to the Custom- 
Houses and Post-Offices, and why should not 
the President have one for himself and Cabi- 
net. The Congressmen have more opportu- 



GOVERNMENT RELIGION. 193 

nity for attending public worship in the 
churches on the Sabbath than the deputy 
postmasters have. The postmasters must 
spend much of the Sabbath in opening and 
making up mailS;, and delivering letters : 
hence they seem specially to need a sort of 
missionary work among them. And we sus- 
pect a service in a city post-office^ whilst the 
clerks are making up the mail^ would be 
fully as orderly and edifying as many of the 
services in Congress. And whilst the cus- 
tom-house officers are sauntering about the 
wharves on Sunday^ watching against con- 
traband operations^ it might be well enough 
to set a spiritual watch over them. It may 
be inferred from these hints^ that we have 
no great respect for the religious operations 
of Uncle Sam : but we do not wish to express 
a decided opinion, so much as to call attention 
to the lack of settled principles on this sub- 
ject. 

The civil oath, in its nature, is one of the 
most solemn acts of worship known on earth 

17 



194 THE CIVIL OATH. 

it is an act of official worship by the State 
— and of Christian worship^ too^ as it is 
performed on the Bible. But what a call is 
there^ that the Christian public should ob- 
serve closely this practice of the State, lest it 
descend into sacrilege or superstition. The 
kissing of the Bible we consider a super- 
stitious practice. But we feel far more 
wounded at the countless multiplications of 
the oathj and the hasty and irreverent man- 
ner in which it is administered, which, to 
our mind, seems Hke "^ profane swearing," — 
like '^ taking the name of God in vain." But 
how indifferent are Christian people as to this 
growing governmental profanity. 

But the religious element in our form of 
government is small, compared with what 
may be called, by way of distinction, the 
moral element. How hazy is the public mind 
upon this most important class of topics. We 
fear that defined principles on this point are 
as scarce as books on Charity. The theory 
of our government is, that the people are in- 



ANALYSIS WANTED. 195 

directly the source of the laws. Now on 
what general principle do the people base 
such a movement^ for example^ as a legisla- 
tive crusade against rum-selling ; or against 
profane swearings or against Sabbath-break- 
ing, or gamblings or any other immorality ? 
Can they say to their representatives^ ^^ You 
must enact laws against such and such vices^ 
hecaiLse they are forbidden in the Word of 
God T If so^ they imply the principle which 
leads to an establishment of religion as entire 
as it exists in Spain ot Italy. The only safe 
ground is that of public order and safety. It 
is to this test alone^, any such act can justifi- 
ably be brought. 

But here there is a wide range^ and an in- 
finite series of possibilities. How impossible 
it would be to solve all such questions with- 
out some general guide which can be relied 
on as infallible. If individual cases are to 
be solved without broad moral principles, 
then all uniformity and certainty is impossi- 
ble. But, admitting the Bible to have been 



196 THE BIBLE THE GUIDE. 

indited by Infinite Wisdom and Goodness^ 
and to contain a summary of principles ap- 
plying to all human relations^ then we have 
an ever-present guide in forming our opinions 
as to what is best for society. We may feel 
sure^ in the first place, that all positive vices 
specified in Scripture are, and must be, inju- 
rious to the public weal, and hence may 
fairly be prohibited so far as it is possible for 
laws to take effectual hold of the offence. It 
ought to be enough to convince a Christian 
mind that adultery is mjurious to the public 
weal, to know that it is interdicted in the 
Decalogue ; and so of murder, slander, fraud, 
stealing, and of all violations of what man 
owes to man. The object of law is to pro- 
mote justice, right, harmony, safety among 
the people; and every vice in the whole 
catalogue is an opposing element to this de- 
sign of law ; and all that a citizen need de- 
termine is, whether a certain practice is or 
is not a vice. If it is, it should, if possible, 
be suppressed by law. Now, in determining 



MAN THE BASIS OF LEGISLATION. 197 

this^ the believer has only to consult his In- 
fallible Authority. It is certainly an incon- 
sistency in any people professing to believe 
the Scriptures^, to tolerate any legislation 
which contravenes any Scripture principle. 
It is to this test that legislation on usury^ 
marriage^ divorce^ and all other topics whose 
principles are settled in Scripture^ should be 
brought^ not ojfficially^ but privately and con- 
scientiously. 

MAN THE BASIS OF LEGISLATION. 

When we enter the department of positive 
legislation for the good of society^ we have 
not as clear a set of principles drawn from 
Holy Writ as in the other case ; but we have 
certain broad precepts^ out of which innu- 
merable practical principles may be evolved. 
One great principle is vary clearly deducible 
from Scripture^ viz.^ that the only proper ob- 
ject of our regard and care on earth is man. 
It is not land^ or money^ or manufactures, 

17^ 



198 LEGISLATION FOR MAJORITY. 

nor is it landowners, capitalists, or manufac- 
turers, that we are to love ; but it is " our 
neicjliboiirr And, manifestly, Christian po- 
litics can lay no other foundation for its su- 
perstructure than this which is laid. It 
absolutely forbids all legislation for any class, 
unless that class constitute the greatest num- 
ber of the people ; and it requires the enact- 
ment of all laws which shall promote the 
greatest good of the greatest number. 

There will indeed be cases in which the 
interests of a large minority would be seri- 
ously damaged, in which case a Christian 
sj)irit would require a waiving of the claims 
of the majority, unless those claims were 
very pressing and momentous. 

But as a rule, the interest in which the 
greatest number of persons is involved de- 
mands to be primarily consulted and sub- 
served; and, consequently, that system of 
politics which rests upon any other basis 
should be rejected by all those which wish 
to be governed by Christian principle. If 



NOT PROPERTY BUT PEOPLE. 199 

this be true^ the interests of the labouring 
classes come in for the highest consideration, 
because the welfare of a greater number is 
here involved than in any other interest. 
Indeed, were wealth the basis of legislation, 
it might be shown that the annual proceeds 
of labour exceed that of all other forms of 
capital. But we reject this criterion, and 
claim that the question is chiefly, if not 
solely, a numerical one. In this sentiment 
we do not profess to represent our author, 
nor to have looked deeply into the subject 
of Political Economy ; but we feel safe in 
following a clear Scriptural principle whither- 
soever it conducts us. We can see only 
mammonism in that system of politics which 
ciphers up the largest property interest, and 
makes that the punctum stans of the legisla- 
tor. We do not care whether the land in- 
terest of the country is the largest or the 
smallest ; we care much more to know whe- 
ther there are not more workers on the land 
of others than possessors in fee simple. It 
is a very small thing to us to know how 



200 OBJECT OF THIS REVIEW. 

many rolling-mills or cotton factories a cer- 
tain man owns ; but it is a very large matter 
to ascertain how many labourers are em- 
ployed in his mills or factories, and how 
many of his neighbours find a market there 
for the products of their toil. And we feel 
bound to advocate the legislation which will 
secure to the great multitudes of workers 
employment at just and remunerative wages. 
And from this point should all legislation be 
developed. But we must refer the reader to 
the mature and pregnant thoughts on this 
general subject in "^ Politics for American 
Christians/' and bring our desultory reflec- 
tions to a close. 

Our main object in this publication has 
been to assist in awakening a general inte- 
rest in this whole class of topics, in order 
that the leading Christian minds of the day 
may be induced to apply their powers to 
this fresh and fertile field ; and that it may 
not be left to the worthless comments of 
newspaper editors, and the impertinent pue- 
rilities of literary whipper-snappers. 



ADDRESS. 



ADDRESS 



TO THE PROTESTANT CLERGY OF AMERICA. 



Dear Brethren : 

To you this whole subject appeals with a 
directness and force which you cannot inno- 
cently resist. To you Christ has committed 
the awful responsibility of expounding and 
inculcating the doctrines of his religion. If 
there be any truth in the charge that charity 
has been slighted in our standards, our preach- 
ingj our literature, our lives, how dare you 
withhold your utmost exertions to restore 
this ^^ lost Pleiad" to the galaxy of heavenly 
doctrines? The eye of Christ is bending 
upon you. Your vows demand that you 



204 ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY. 

shall " preach the Word in all its fulness ;" 
before God's dread tribunal you must standi 
and render your account ; the souls of men 
are at stake \ the entire hopes of all coming 
generations are involved ; how can you "- shun 
to declare the whole counsel of God !" So 
far as you are called of God to your office^ 
you are the heaven-nominated class to lay 
hold of this subject^ and give it the most 
thorough investigation. To refuse to do it; 
is to be wilfully recreant to the most solemn 
obligations which can be imposed upon man. 
And however your Master may excuse your 
thoughtlessness heretofore^ now that your 
attention has been especially directed to it 
he demands your immediate efforts in the 
cause. 

To shrink from it because you are not 
pleased with the mode of its presentation^ is 
to indulge a spirit unworthy any magnani- 
mous mind; much more a servant of the 
meek and forgiving Jesus. Bring objections 
as you may to this whole controversy^ you 



PRIZE OP A THOUSAND DOLLARS. 205 

must admit that it has elicited some ideas 
which are both true and important. Why 
not take hold of these, and endeavour, ac- 
cording to your light, to fulfil your tremen- 
dous obligations ? 

This appeal is, by the author of New 
Themes, in the second edition of that work, 
thrown into the most pointed form. A prize 
of five hundred dollars, which has by the 
publishers been increased to a thousand dol- 
lars, is offered for the best work on Christian 
Charity, founded immediately on the teach- 
ings of Scripture. There is a most painful 
significancy in the silence with which that 
noble proposition has been met. Similar 
offers for works on other subjects usually ex- 
cite a large number of competitors; and 
even on some branches of this very subject 
prizes have drawn forth numberless treatises 
designed for ecclesiastical tax-gathering ; but 
when the Great Doctrine — the Greatest Doc- 
trine — is proposed, and liberal inducements 
offered to all of every nation to compete for 

18 



206 CLERGY BOUND TO CONSIDER. 

it^ it falls like the voice of Love upon the 
ear of Death ! Ye thirty thousand Ameri- 
can Protestant ministers^ are there none of 
all your learned body whose hearts respond 
to such a call as this ? If that offer should 
stand unaccepted for the two years to which 
it is limited, let no man have the effrontery 
to deny the extremest charge which " New 
Themes" brings against '' Protestant Clergy." 

Remember your vast influence in society, 
especially among Christian people. At your 
lips the people expect to hear the law. How 
terrible your account, if, knowing the truth, 
you fail to teach it ! Supposing that, per- 
sonally^, you are to suffer for rendering a bold 
testimony to the truth j supposing that your 
church is likely to be damaged; what are 
you, and what your denomination, comj)ared 
with the truth of God and the good of man ? 

But it is a false impression to suppose that 
either you or your church can suffer real 
detriment from taking earnest hold of this 
Scriptural theme. Indeed, the very way to 



THE WORK WILL GO ON. 207 

bring on what you would avoid^ is to neglect it. 
The world is waking to this negligence on 
the part of the Church, which, if it continues, 
will breed a generation of infidels, or at least 
occasion an annihilation of existing church 
organizations. Naught can avert a moral 
earthquake but a speedy obedience to the 
spirit of Christianity. Even within a half- 
century the whole foreign missionary move- 
ment has come into play ; why may not the 
next half-century witness a progress equally 
great in our home Christianity ? But do as 
you may, the worh will go on. '' The Word 
of God is not bound." It moves like a spirit 
of air, going to and fro, walking up and down 
on the earth. Out of the skies its angel 
voice sounds an evangel for every benighted 
company of men. The prisoner through his 
grate-bars will hear good tidings of great 
joy. Men, indeed, instead of helping to 
liberate the captive, have often tried to 
manacle the Great Liberator. But, though 
often tied, shorn, and blinded, Christianity 



208 CONCLUSION. 

will ere long snap the flaxen cords, and seize 
hold of the pillars of many a Philistine 
temple. 

Let us awake, dear brethren, to the ap- 
peals which are sounding around us. Let 
the scathed and bleeding limbs of the fet- 
tered millions of our race touch our deepest 
sympathies. How do their chains clank 
around us, and every breeze come laden with 
the blows of the knout; and how do the 
chain-gangs of Satan defile past us in long 
and melancholy processions ! There is no 
time to be lost ! Let each one hearken to 
the voice of Wisdom : " Whatsoever thy 
hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; 
for there is no work, nor device, nor know- 
ledge, in the grave whither thou goest." 



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son; Doddridge, by Orton ; 

with sketches of the lives and charticters. and notices of the works, of the writers on the Scriptures 
who are quoted in the Commentary, living and dead, American and foreign. 

Tills part of the volume not only affords a large quantity of interesting and useful reading for 
pious famdies, but will also be a source of gratification to aU those who are in the habit of consult- 
ing the Conmientary ; every one naturally feeling a desire .to know some particidars of the lives and 
characters of Uiase whose opinions he seeks. Appended to tliis part, will be a 

BIBLIOTHECA BIBLIGA, 

or list of the best works on the Bible, of all kinds, arranged under their appropriate heads. 

4. A complete Index of the Matter contained in the Bible Text. 
5. A Symbolical Dictionary. 

A very comprehensive and valuable Dictionary of Scripture Symbols, (occupying about fifty-six 
closely printed pages,) by Thomas Wemyss, (author of "Bibhcal Gleanings," <fec.) Comprising 
Daubuz, Lancaster, Hutcheson, <Stc. 

6. The Work contains several other Articles, 

Indexes, Tables, <kc. Sue., and is, 

7. Elustrated by a large Plan of Jerusalem, 

identifying, as far as tradition, «Stc., go, the original sites, dra^vn on the spot by F. Catherwood, of 
London, architect. Also, two steel engravings of portrait* of seven foreign and eight American 
theological writers, and numerous wood engravings. 

The whole forms a desirable and necessary fund of instruction for the use not only of clergymen 
and Sabbath-.school teachers, but aLso for famihes. When the great amount of matter it must 
contain is considered, it will l>e deemed exceedingly cheap. 

" I have examined * The Companion to the Bible,' and have been sun'rised to find so much infonn- 
ation introduced into a volun.e of so mo<lerate a size. It contains a l.hrnry «f f,^^^^'^^.^",^^^ ^^ 
and criticism. It will be useful to ministers who own large I'^^raries and cannot fail to De an 
invaluable help to every reader of the Bible." ^^^^^^ ^^ Congregitionil ^^1^^^^^^^^^ 

The above work can be had in several styles of binding. Price varying 
from $1 75 to $5 00. 



LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, 

In one super-royal volume. 

DERIVED PRINCIPALLY FROM THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, ANTIQUITIES, TRADITIONS, 

AND FORMS OF SPEECH, RITES, CLIMATE, WORKS OF ART, AND 

LITERATURE OF THE EASTERN NATIONS : 

EMBODYINa ALL THAT IS VALUABLE IN THE WORKS OF 

ROBERTS, HARIVSER, BURDER, PAXTON, CKANBIiER, 

And the most celebrated oriental travellers. Embracing also the subject of the Fulfilment of 

Prophecy, as exhibited by Keith and others ; with descriptions of the present state 

of countries and places mentioned in the Sacred Writings. 

ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS LANDSCAPE ENGRAVINGS, 

FEOM SKETCHES TAKEN ON THE SPOT. 

Edited by Rev. George Bush, 

Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature in the New York City University. 

The importance of this work, must be obvious, and, being altogether illustrative, without reference 
to doctrines, or other points in which Christians differ, it is hoped it will meet with favour from all 
who love the sacre^l volume, and that it will be sufficiently interesting and attractive to recommend 
itself, not only to professed Christians of aU denominations, but also to the general reader. The 
arrangement of the texts illustrated with the notes, in the order of the chapters and verses of the 
authorized version of the Bible, will render it convenient for reference to particular passages ; 
while the copious Index at the end will at once enable the reader to turn to every subject discussed 
in the volume. 

This volume is not designed to take the place of Commentaries, hut is a distinct department of biblical 
instruction, and mav be used as a companion to the Compreheiisive or any other Commentary, or the 
Eoty Bible. 

THE ENGRAVINGS 

In this volume, it is believed, will fonn no small part of its attractions. No pains have been spared 
to procure such as should embellish the work, and, at the same time, illustrate the text. Objeo- 
tions that have been made to the pictures commonly introduced inio the Bible, as being mere crea- 
tions of fancy and the imagination, often unlike nature, and frequently conve}ang false impressions, 
cannot be urged against the pictorial illustrations of this volume. Here the fine arts are made 
subservient to utility, the landscape views being, without an exception, matter-of-fact vievss of places 
mentioned in Scripture, as they appear at the present day ; thus in many instances exhibitinj?, in the 
most forcible manner, to the eye, the strict and literal fulfilment of the remarkable prophecies ; *• the 
present ruined and desolate condition of the cities of Babylon, Nineveh, Selah, <Scc., and the coun- 
tries of Edora and Egypt, are astonishing examples, and to completely exemplify, in the most 
minute particulars, every thing which was foretold of them in th? height of their prosperity, that 
no better description can now be given of them than a simple quotation from a chapter and verse 
of the Bible written nearly two or tliree thousand years ago." The publishers are enabled to select 
from several collections lately published in London, the proprietor of one of which says that " seve- 
ral distinguished travellers have afforded him the use of nearly Three Hundred Original Sketched* 
of Scripture places, made upon the spot. " The land of Palestine, it is well known, abounds in 
scenes of the most picturesque beauty. Syria comprehends the snowy heights of Lebanon, and the 
majestic ruins of Tadmor and Baalbec." 
The above work can be had m various styles of binding. 

Price from $1 50 to $5 00. 

THE ILLUSTRATED COKCORDANCE, 

In one volume, royal 8vo. 

A new, full, and complete Concordance ; illustrated with monumental, traditional, and oriental 
engravings, founded on Butterworth's, with Cruden's definitions ; forming, it is believed, on many 
accounts, a more valuable work than either Butterworth, Cruden, or any other similar book in th« 
language. 

The value of a Concordance is now generally understood ; and those who have used one, con- 
sider it indispensable in connection with the Bible. Some of the many advantages the Illustrated 
Concordance has over all the others, are, that it contains near two hundred appropriate engraviogi ; 
it is printed oa fijie white paper, with beautiful large type. 

Price One Dollar. 
4 



LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

»i III ■ . . ■ , I . . .1. 1 .1 1 n0 

LIPPINCOTT'S EDITION OF 

BAGSTEH'S COMPREHENSIVE BIBLE. 

In order to develope the peculiar nature of the Comprehensive Bible, it will only be necessary 
to embrace its more prominent features. 

1st. The SACRED TEXT is that of the Authorized Version, and is printed from the edition cor- 
rected and improved by Dr. Blaney, which, from its accuracy, is considered the standard edition. 

2d. The VARIOUS READINGS are faithfully printed from the edition of Dr. Blaney, inclusive 
of the translation of the proper names, without the addition or diminution of one, 

3d. In the CHRONOLOGY, great care has been taken to fix the date of the particular transac- 
tions, which has seldom been done with any degree of exactness in any former edition of the Bible. 

4th. The NOTES are exclusively philological and explanatory, and are not tinctured with senti- 
ments of any sect or party. They are selected from the most eminent Biblical critics and com- 
mentators. 

It is hoped that this edition of the Holy Bible will be found to contain the essence of Biblical 
research and criticism, that lies dispersed through an immense number of volumes. 

Such is the nature and design of this edition of the Sacred Volume, which, from the various 
objects it embraces, the freedom of its pages from all sectarian peculiarities^ and the beauty, plain- 
ness, and correctness of the typography, that it cannot fail of proving acceptable and useful to 
Christians of every denomination. 

In addition to the usual references to parallel passages, which are quite full and numerous, the 
student has all the marginal readings, together with a rich selection of Philological, Critical, Histo- 
rical, Geographical, and other valuable notes and remarks, which explain and illustrate the sacred 
text. Besides the general introduction, containing valuable essays on the genuineness, authenticity,, 
and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and other topics of interest, there are introductory and con- 
cluding remarks to each book — a table of the contents of the Bible, by which the different portions 
are so arranged as to read in an historical order. 

Arranged at the top of each page is the period in which the prominent events of •sacred history 
took place. The calculations are made for the year of the world before and after Christ, Julian 
Period, the year of the Olympiad, the year of the building of Rome, and other notations of time. 
At the close is inserted a Chronological Index of the Bible, according to the computation of Arch- 
bishop Ussher, Also, a full and valuable index of the subjects contained in the Old and New Testa- 
ments, with a careful analysis and arrangement of texts under their appropriate subjects. 

Mr. Greenfield, the editor of this work, and for some time previous to his death the superintend- 
ent of the editorial department of the British and Foreign Bible Society, was a mast extraordinary 
man. In-editing the Comprehensive Bible, his varied and extensive learning was called into suc- 
cessful exercise, and appears in happy combination with sincere piety and a sound judgment. The 
Editor of the Christian Observer, alluding to this work, in an obituary notice of its author, speaks 
of it as a work of "prodigious labour and research, at once exhibiting his varied talents and pro- 
found erudition." 



LIPPINCOTT'S EDITION OF 

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The Publishers have spared neither care nor expense in their edition of the Bible ; it is printed 
en the finest white vellum paper, with large and beautiful type, and bound in the most substantial 
and splendid manner, in the following styles : Velvet, Mith richly gilt ornaments ; Turkey super 
extra, with gilt clasps ; and in numerous others, to suit the taste of the most fastidious. 

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

**Tn our opinion, the Christian public generally will feel under great obligations to the publishers 
of this work for the beautiful taste, arrangement, and delicate neatness with which they have got 
it out. The intrinsic merit of tlie Bible reconnnends itself; it needs no tinsel ornament to adorn 
its sacred pages. In this edition every superfluous ornament has been avoided, and we have pre- 
sented us a perfectly chaste specimen o'f the Bible, without note or conunent. It appears to be just 
what is needed in every family — ' the unsophisticated word of God.' 

*• The size is quarto, printed with beautiful type, on white, sized vellum paper, of the finest texture 
and most beautiful surface. The publishers seem to have been ^5olicitous to make a perfectly 
unique book, and they have accomplished the oVyect very snccessfullv. We trust that a liberal 
community will afford them ample remuneration for all the expense u'nd outlay they have necossa- 
rily incurred in its publication. It is a standard Bible. 

"The publishers are Messrs. Lippincott, Grambo <k Co., No. 14 North Fourth street, Philadel- 
phia." — Baptist Record. 

"A beautiful quarto edition of the Bible, by L., G. & Co. Nothing can exceed the type in clear 
ness and beauty ; the paper is of the finest texture, and the whole execution is exceeoingly neat. 
No illustrations or ornamental type are used. 'I'hose who prefer a Bible executed in perfect sim- 
phcity, yet elegance of style, without adornment, will probably never find one more to their tast« " 
-*-iW. Magazine. 



LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS, 
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Baxter's Compretensive Bible, 

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book ; philological and explanatory notes ; table oi contents, arranged in liistorical order ; a chro- 
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Sabbath-school teachers, and students. 

In neat plain binding, from $4 00 to $5 00. — In Turkey morocco, extra, gilt edges, from $8 00 to 
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The Oxford Quarto Bible, 

Without note or comment, universally admitted to be the most beautiful Bible extant. 
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The Sunday- School Teacher's Polyglot Bible, with Maps, &c., 

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Agate 32iao. Bible, 

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32mo. Diamond Pocket Bible; 

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CONSTANTLY ON HAND, 

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A liberal discount made to Booksellers and Agents by the Publishers. 

ENCYCLOPy€D!A OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE; 

UE, DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE, THEOLOGY, RELIGIOUS BIOGRAPHY, ALL RELIGIONS, 
ECCLESIASTIC.VL HISTORY, AND MISSIONS. 
Designed as a com.plete Book of Reference on all Religious Sulyects, and Companion to the Bible; 
torraing a cheap and compact Library of Religious Knowledge. Edited by Rev. J. Ne^vton Brown. 
Illustrated by wood-cuts, maps, and engi-avings on copper and steel. In one volume, royal 8fwi. 
Price. $4 00. ^- 

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ILLUSTRATED WITH A NUIMBER OF STEEL PLATES A^D ILLUMIN'ATIGNS. 

C03IPIlEHENDINa THE MOST VARIED AND SPLENDID ASSORTMENT IN TSS 

UNITED STATES. 



THE iLLU.'i/IINATED OCTAVO PRAYER-BOOK, 

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8vo. 

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rnents, $5 (XJ to 112 00. 

1 6mo. 

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«i GO to $9 00. 

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The Errors of Modern Infidelity Illustrated and Refuted- 

BY S. lyC. SOHSVIUCKER, A. 2Vr. 
In one volume, 12mo. ; cloth. Just published. 

We cannot but regard this work, in whatever light we view it in reference to its desigri, m one 
of the most ma-sterly productions of the age, and fitted to uproot one of the most fondly cherished 
and dangerous of all ancient or modern errors. God must idess such a work, armed with his own 
truth, and doing fierce and successful battle against black infidelity, which would bring ILs Majesty 
ziid Woad dowa to the tribunal of human rea.son, for condemnation and annihilation.— j4/Zf. Spcciaior 



LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

t Clergij 0f Slmntta: 

CONSISTING OF 

ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE CHARACTER OF MINISTERS OF RELI- 
610N IN THE UNITED STATES, 

BY JOSEPH BELCHER, D.D., 

Editor of "The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller," "Robert Hall," &c. 

*• This very interesting and instrnctive co'lecHon of pleasing and solemn remembrances of many 
pious men, illustrates the character of the day in which they lived, and defines the men mor* 
clearly than very elaborate essays." — Baltimore American. 

** We regard the collection as highly interesting, and judiciously mude." — Presbyterian. 

JOSEPHUS'S (FLA¥IUS) WORKS, 

FAMILY EDITION. 

BY THE I.ATE l^IT.'LIATa VU-HISTQI^, A. 3VI. 

FROM THE LAST LONDON EDITION, COMPLETE. 

One volume, beautifully illustrated with Steel Plates, and the only readable edition 

published in this country. 

As a matter of cour^, every family in our country has a copy of the Holy Bible ; and as the pre- 
sumption is that the greater portion often consult its pages, we take the liberty of saying to aU those 
that do, that the pemsal of the writing^s of Josephus will be found very interesting and instructive. 

AU those who wish to possess a beautL'ul and correct copy of this valuable work, would do well 
to purchase this edition. It is for sale at all the principal bookstores in the United States, and by 
country merchants generally in the Southern and Western States. 

Also, the above work in two volumes. 

BURDER'S VILLAGE SERMONS; 

Or, 101 Plain and Short Discourses on the Principal Doctrines of the Gospel. 

INTENDED FOR THE USE OF FAMILIES, SUNDAY-SCHOOLS, OR COMPAx^IES ASS3M- 
BLED FOR RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN COUNTRY VILLAGES. 

BY G-EOHGE BURDEH. 
To which is added to each Sermon, a Short Prayer, vdth some General Prayers for Familiea^ 
■ Schools, &c., at the end of the work. 

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO, 
These sermons, which are characterized by a beautiful simplicity, the entire absence of Gontn>- 
▼ersy, and a true evangelical spirit, have gone through many and large editions, and been translated 
into several of the continental languages. " They have also been tite honoured means not only of 
converting many individuals, but also of introducing the Gospel into districts, and even into parish 
lurches, where before it was comparatively unknown." 
" This work fully deserves the immortahty it has attained." 

This is a fine hbrary edi;;ion of this invaluable work ; and when we say that it should be found is 
the possession of every family, we only reiterate the sentiments and sincere wishes of ail who tak« 
a deep interest in the eternal welfare of mankind. 

FAMILY PRAYERS AND HYMNS, 

ADAPTED TO FAMILY WORSHIP, 

AND 

TABLES FOR THE REGULAR READING OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

By Rev. S. C. Winchester, A. M., 

Late Past<Mr <rf the Sixth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia; and the Presbyterian Chnrch at 

Natchez, Miss. 

One volume, 12mo. 
8 



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SPLENDID LIBRARY EDITIONS. 



ILLUSTRATED STANDARD POETS. 

ELEGANTLY PRINTED, ON FINE PAPER, AND UNIFORM IN SIZE AND 

STYLE. 



Tlie following Editions of Standard British Poets are illustrated with numerous Steel " 
Engravings, and may be had in all varieties of binding. 

BYRON'S WORKS. 

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. 

INCLUDING ALL HIS SUPPRESSED AND ATTRIBUTED POEMS ; WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL 

ENGRAVINGS. 

This edition has been carefully compared with the recent London edition of Mr, Murray, and 
made complete by the addition of more than fifly pages of poems heretofore unpublished in Eng- 
land. Among these there are a number that have never appeared in any American edition ; and 
the publishers believe they are warranted in saying that this is tke most complete edition of Lord 
ByrotVs Poetical Worlcs ever published in the United States. 



Complete in one volume, octavo ; with seven beautiful Engravings. 

This is a new and complete edition, with a splendid engraved likeness of Mrs. Hemans, on steel, 
and contains all the Poems in the last London and American editions. With a Critical Preface by 
Mr, Thatcher, of Boston. 

"As no work in the English language can be commended with more confidence, it will argue bad 
taste m a female in this country to be without a complete edition of the writings of one who viras 
an honour to her sex and to humanity, and whose productions, from first to last, contain no syllable 
calculated to call a blush to the cheek of modesty and virtue. There is, moreover, in Mrs. Hemans's 
poetry, a moral purity and a religious feeling which commend it, in an especial manner, to the dis- 
criminating reader. No parent or guardian will be under the necessityaof imposing restrictions 
with regard to the free perusal of every production emanating from this gifted woman. There 
breathes throughout the whole a most eminent exemption from impropriety of thought or diction ; 
and there is at times a pensiveness of tone, a winning sadness in her more serious compositions, 
which tells of a soul which has been lifted from the contemplation of terrestrial things, to divine 
«ommunings with beings of a purer world," 



IWILTON, YOUNG, GRAY, BEATTIE, AND COLLINS'S 
POETICAL WORKS. 

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. 
WITH SIX BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. 



€nmi^tt ml €\}mim\xB ^xmt ml ^ktlM Wnxh. 

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. 

Locluding two hundred and fiily Letters, and sundry Poems of Cowper, never before publislied ia 

tliis country ; and of Thomson a new and interesting Memoir, and upwards of twenty 

new Poems, for the first time printed from liis own Manuscripts, taken from 

a late Edition of the Aldine Poets, now publishing in London, 
WITH SEVEN BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. 
The distinguished Professor Silliman, speaking of this edition, observes : " I am as much gratifled 
by the elegance and fine taste of your edition, as by tlie noble tribute of genius and moral excel* 
lence which these delightful authors have left for all future generations ; and Cowper, espeoiallj, 
is not less conspicuous as a true Christian, moralist and teacher, than as a poet of great power and 
exquisite taste." 

9 



LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

THE POETICAL WORKS OF ROGERS, CAlViPBELL, MONTGOMERY, 
LAMB, AND KIRKE WHITE. 

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. 

WITH SIX beautifulHengravings. 

The beauty, correctness, and convenience of this favourite edition of these standard authors are 
BO well known, that it is scarcely necessary to add a word in its favour. It is only necessary to say, 
that the publishers have now issued an illustrated edition, which greatly enhances its fonner value. 
The engravings are excellent and well selected. It is the best library edition extant. 



CRABBE, HEBER, AND POLLOK'S POETICAL WORKS. 

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME, OCTAVO. 
V7ITH SIX BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVING-S. 

A writer in the Boston Traveller holds the following language with reference to these valuable 
editions : — 

•• Mr, Editor : — I wish, without any idea of puffing, to say a word or two upon the ' Library of 
English Poets' that is now published at Philadelphia, by Lippincott, Grambo <fe Co. It is certainly, 
taking into consideration the elegant manner in which it is printed, and the reasonable price at 
which it is afforded to purchasers, the best edition of the modem British Poets that has ever been 
published in this country. Each volume is an octavo of about 500 pages, double columns, stereo- 
typed, and accompanied with fine engravings and biographical sketches ; and most of them are 
reprinted from Galignani's French edition. As to its value, we need only mention that it contams 
the entire works of Montgomery, Gray, Beattie, Collins, Byron, Cowper, Thomson, Milton, Young, 
Rogers, Campbell, Lamb, Hemans, Heber, Kirke White, Crabbe, the Miscellaneous Works of Gold- 
smith, and other masters of the lyre. The publishers are doing a great service by their publication, 
and their volumes are almost in as great demand as the fashionable novels of the day ; and they 
deserve to be so : for they are certainly printed in a style superior to that in which we have before 
had the works of the English Poets." 

No library can be considered complete without a copy of the above beautiful and cheap editions 
©f the English Poets ; and persons ordering all or any of them, will please say Lippincott, Grambo 
& Co.'s illustrated editions. 



A COMPLETE 

lutionan] of ^netiral (touti!atl0ii0: 

COMPRISING THE MOST EXCELLENT AND APPROPRIATE PASSAGES IN 
THE OLD BRITISH POETS; WITH CHOICE AND COPIOUS SELEC- 
TIONS FROM THE BEST MODERN BRITISH AND 
AMERICAN POETS. 
EDITED BY SARAH JOSEPHA HALE. 
As nightingales do upon glow-wonns feed, 
So poets live upon the Living light 
Of Nature and of Beauty. 

Bailey^s Festus. 

Beautifully illustrated with Engravings. In one super-royal octavo volume, in various 

bindings. 

The publishers extract, from the many highly complimentary notices of the above valuable and 
beautiful work, the following : 

"We have at last a volume of Poetical Quotations worthy of the name. It contains nearly six 
hundred octavo pases, carefully and tastefully selected from all the home and foreiem authors df 
celebrity. It is invaluable to a writer, while to the ordinary reader it presents every subject at a 
glance." — Godey^s Ladifs Book. 

" The plan or idea of Mrs. Hale's work is felicitous. It is one for which her fine taste, her orderly 
habits of mind, and her lon^ occupation with literature, has given her peculiar facilities; and tho- 
loughly has she accomplished her task in the work before ns." — Sartam's Magazine. 

*• It is a choice collection of poetical extracts from every Ene;lish and American author worth 
perusing, from the days of Ciiaucer to the present time." — Washington Union. 

** There is nothing negative about this work ; it is positively good.'' — Evening BuUetin. 

10 



LIPPINCOTT, QRAMBO & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

THE DIAMOND EDjTION OF BYRON. 
THE POETICAL WORKS OF LORD BYRON/ 

^CSTITH A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE. 

COMPLETE IN ONE NEAT DUODECIMO VOLUME, WITH STEEL PLATES. 

The type of this edition is so perfect, and it is printed with so much care, on fine white paper, 
that it can be read with as much ease as most of the larg^er editions. This work is to be had ia 
plain and superb bin«lin?, making a beautiful volume for a gift. 

" Tfie Poetical Works of Lord Byron^ complete in one volume • published by L., G. &. Co., Phila- 
delphia. We hazard nothing in saying that, take it altogether, tiiis is the most elegant work ever 
issued from tlie American press. 

"•In a single volume, not larger than an ordinary duodecimo, the publishers have embraced the 
whole of Lord Byron's Poems, usually printed in ten or twelve volumes ; and, what is more remark- 
able, have done it with a type so clear and distinct, that, notwithstanding its necessarily small size, 
it njay be read with the utmost facility, even by failing eyes. The book is stereotyped ; and never 
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ing, the binding, all correspond with each other ; and it is embellished with two fine engravmgs, 
well worthy the companionship in which they are placed. 

" 'This will make a beautiful Christmas present.' 

" We extract the above from Godey's Lady's Book. The notice itself, we are given to understand, 
is written by Mrs. Hale. 

" We have to add our commendation in favour of this beautiful volume, a copy of which has 
been sent us by the publishers. Tlie admirers of the noble bard will feel obliged to the enterprise 
which has promptetl the publishers to d.ire a competition with the numerous editions of his works 
already in circulation; and we shall be surprised if tins convenient travelling edition does not in a 
great degree supersede the use of the large octavo v/orks, which have little advantage in size ana 
openness of type, and are much inferior in the qualities of portability and hghtness." — hitdliyencxr* 



THE BiAiVIQND EDITION OF fvlOORE. 

(CORQESPONDING WITH BYEON.) 



THE POETICAL WORKS OF THOMAS MOORE, 

COLLECTED BY HIMSELF. 

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME. 

Tnis work is published uniform with Byron, from the last London edition, and is the most ooia- 
pletc printed in the country. 

THE DIAMOND EDITION OF SHAKSPEARE, 

(COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME,) 

zx7Ci>nB£rTa £k skistcb: or "hib i^ifs. 

UNIFORM WITH BYRON AND MOORE. 
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GOLDSMITH'S ANIMATED NATURE. 

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CONTAINING A HISTORY OF THE EARTH, ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND FISHES; FORMING 
THE MOST COMPLETE NATURAL HISTORY EVER PUBUSHED. 

This is a work that should be in the library of every family, having been written by on« of the 
most talented authors in the English language. 

•• Goldsmith can never be made obsolete while delicate genius, exquisite feeling, fine invention* 
the most hannonious metre, and the happiest diction, are at all valued." 

BIGLAND'S NATURAL HISTORY 

(M Animab, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles, and Insects. Illustrated with numerous and beautiful Engraw 

mgs. Bs JOHN BIG LAND, author of a " View of the World," " Letters on 

UUiversal History," <k«. Complete in 1 vol,, 12mo. 

11 



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THE POWER ARD PROGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



THE UNITED STATES; Its Power and Progress. 

BY GUILLAITiyiE TELL POUSSIN, 

LATE MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE TO THE UNITED STATES. 

FIRST AMERICAN, FROM THE THIRD PARIS EDITION. 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY EDMOND L. DU BARRY, M. D., 

SURGEON U. S. NAVY. 

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SCHOOLCRAFT'S GREAT NATIONAL WORK ON THE INDIAN TRIBES OF 
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WITH BEAUTIFUL AND ACCURATE COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS. 



HtSTORlGAL AND STATiSTiOAL INFORMATION 

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OF THB 

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BIT HlSSTB'l' a. SGHOOXiGRikFT, 1.1.. I>. 

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Also, general as well as minute instructions for laying out or erecting each and every of the above 
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Plants, and the most important Grapes, <fec., used in rural economy; with the soil best adapted to 
their cultivation. Together with a copious Index to the body of the work. 

BY BERNARD M'MAHON. 
Tenth Edition, greatly improved. In one volume, octavo. 

THE USEFUL AND THE BEAUTIFUL; 

OR. DOMESTIC AND MORAL DUTIES NECESSARY TO SOCIAL HAPPINESS, 

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IN ONE LARGE OCTAVO VOLUME. 

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THE PRACTICAL FARRIER, FOR FARMERS: 

COMPRISING A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE NOBLE AND USEFUL ANIMAL, 

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TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

A PRIZE ESSAY ON MULES | AND AN APPENDIX, 

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BIT HICKilL^B I^JLBOl^, 3^. B., 

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MASON'S FARRIER AND STUD-BOOK-NEW EDITION. 



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BIT mcuj^my -miLsoi^y xh.'d.. 

Formerly of Sm-ry County, Virginia. 

Yo which is added, A PRIZE ESSAY ON MULES; and AN APPENDIX, containing: Recipes tot 

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of the Turf, American Stud-Book, Rules for Training, Racing, <kc 

WITH A SUPPLEMENT, 

Comprising an Essay on Domestic Animals, especially the Horse ; with Remarks on Treatment aA« 

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two, three and four mile heats ; Pedigrees of Winning Horses, since 1839, and of the most 

celebrated Stallions and Marcs; with usefwl Calving and Lambing Tables. By 

J. S. SKINNER, Editor now of the Planner's Library. New York, A;c. «kc- 

13 



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HINDS'S FARRIERY AND STUD-BOOK-NEW EDITION. 

farrTery, 

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BEINO 

% €xuim m tjjB Wmmm nut SltriiiEHts nf tin; Inm; 

With Instructions to the Shoeing Smith, Farrier, and Groom ; preceded by a Popular Description ol 
the Auimal Functions in Health, and how these are to be restored when disordered. 

BY JOHN HINDS, VETERINARY SURGEON. 

With considerable Additions and Improvements, particularly adapted to this country, 

BY THOMAS M. SMITH, 

Veterinary Surgeon, and Member of the London Veterinary Medical Society. 

WITH A SUPiPLEMENT, BY J. S. SKINNER,. 

The publishers have received numerous flattering notices of the great practical value of these 
works. The distinguished editor of the American Farmer, speaking of them, observes: — "We 
cannot too Iiighly reconamend these books, and therefore advise every ovmer of a horse to obtain 
them." 

"There are receipts in those books that show how Founder may be cured, and the traveller pur- 
sue his journey the next day, by giving a tablespoonful of alum. This was got from Dr. P. Thonitcn| 
of Montpelier, Rappahannock county, Virginia, as founded on his own observation in several cases." 

" The constant demand for Mason's and Hinds's Farrier has induced the publishers, Messrs. Lip- 

g'ncott, Grambo <fe Co., to put forth new editions, with a * Supplement' of 100 pages, by J. S. Skinner, 
sq. We should have sought to render an acceptable service to our agricultural readers, by giving 
a chapter from the Supplement, *0n the Relations between Man and the Domestic Animals, espe- 
cially the Horse, and the Obligations tliey impose ;' or the one on * The Form of Animals ;' but that 
either one of them would ovenun the space here allotted to such subjects." 

" Lists of IMedicines, and other articles which ought to be at hand about every training and livery 
stable, and every Farmer's and Breeder's establishment, will be found h\ these' valuable works." 



TO CARPENTERS AND iVIECHANICS. 

Just Published. 



A NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION OF 

THE CAEPENTEE'S Is^EW GUIDE, 

BEING A COMPLETE BOOK OF LINES FOR 

Treating fully on Practical Geometry, Saffil's Brick and Plaster Groins, Niches of every description, 

Sky-lights, Lines for Roofs and Donies ; with a great variety of Designs for llooiis, 

Trussed Girders, Floors, Domes, Bridgesy^fec, Angle Bars for Shop 

Fronts, <kc., and Raking Mouldings. 

AL S O, 

Additional Plans for various Stair-Cases, with the Lines for producing the Face and Falling Mould* 

never before published, and greatly supenor to those given in a former edition of this work. 

BY WILLIAM JOHNSON, ARCHITECT. 

OF PHILADELPHIA. 

The whole founded on true Geometrical Principles; the Theory and Practice well explamed and 
tuiiy exemplified, on eightj^-three copper plates, including some Observations and Calculations on 
the Strength of Timber 

BY PETER NICHOLSON, 
kaliim «f "The Carpenter and Jomer's Assistant," "The Student's instructor to ttie Fl^* 

Orders," <kc. 

Thirteenth Edition. One volume, 4to., well hound. 
14 



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A DiCTlONARY OF SELECT AND POPULAR QUOTATiONS, 

WHICH ARE IN DAILY USE. 

TAKEN FROM THE LATIN, FRENCH, GREEK, SPANISH AND ITALIAN LANGUAGES. 

Together with a copious Collection of Law Maxims and Law Terms, translated into 

English, with Illustrations, Historical and Idiomatic. 

NEW AMERICAN EDITION, CORRECTED. WITH ADDITIONS. 

One volume, 12mo. 

Thi3 volume comprises a copious collection of legal and other terras which are in common nse, 
•nth English translations and historical illustrations; and we should judge its author had surely 
cen to a great " Feast of Languages," and stole all the scraps. A work of this character should 
have an extensive sale, as it entirely obviates a serious difliculty in which most readers are involved 
by the frequent occurrence of Latin, Greek, and French passages, which we suppose are introduced 
by authors for a mere show of learning — a difficulty very perplexing to readers in general. This 
** Dictionary of Quotations," concerning which too much cannot be. said in its favour, effectually 
removes the difficulty, and gives the reader an advantage over the author ; for we believe a majority 
are themselves ignorant of the meaning of the terms they employ. Very few truly learned authors 
will insult their readers by introducing Latin or French quotations in their writings, when " plain 
Enghsh" will do as well ; but we will not enlarge on this point. 

If the book is useful to those unacquainted with other languages, it is no less valuable to the 
classically educated as a book of reference, and answers aU the purposes of a Lexicon — indeed, on 
many accounts, it is better. It saves tiie trouble of tumbhng over the larger volumes, to which 
eveiy one, and especially those engaged in the legal profession, are ver/ often subjected. It should 
have a place in every hbrary in the country. 



RUSCHENBERGER'S NATURAL HISTORY', 

COMPLETE, WITH NEW GLOSSARY. 



t (BUmtuU d Natural lidart), 

EMBRACII^G ZOOLOGY, BOTANY AND GEOLOGYl 

FOR SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND FAMILIES. 

BIT W. S. "W. IIUS0H1S£7BBR&£SH,Z^.B; 

IN TWO VOLUMES. 

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VoL L contains Vertebrate Animals. Vol. II, contains Mervertehrate Animals, Botany, and Geology, 

A Beautiful and Valuable Presentation Book. 



THE POET'S OFFERING. 

EDITED BY MRS. HALE. 
With a Portrait of the Editress, a Splendid Illuminated Title-Page, and Twelve Beautifid Engrar- 
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To those who wish to make a present that will never lose its value, this will be found the most 
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"We commend it to all who desire to T>resent a friend with a volume not only verv beautiful, but 
of solid nitnnsic \:i\yie." —Washington Uiiixni. 

**A peri"ect treasury of the thoughts and fancies of the best Englisli and American Poets. The 
paper and prmtmg are beautiful, and the binding rich, elegant, and substantial; the most sensible 
and attractive of all the elegant gift-l)()oks we have seen." - Evf.7unq BicIMm. 

1 he publishers deserve the thanks of the public for so happy a thought, so well e.xecuted. The 
pSuTud fr^ artists, and the other portions of the work correspond nx elegance." — 

II There is no J)ook of selections so diversified and appropriate within our knowle<lge."— A-rjruw/w'n. 
tady'TBook "'^'^^ valuable as well as elegant books ever published in this country." — Godey't 

15 



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THE YOUNG DOMINICAN; 
OR, THE MYSTERIES OF THE INQUISITION, 

AND OTHER SECRET SOCIETIES OF SPAIN. 
BY M. V. DB FEHEAL. 

WITH HISTORICAL NOTES. BY M. MANUEL DE CUENDIAS 

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. 
ILLUSTRATED WITH TWENTY SPLENDID ENGRAVINGS BY FRENCH ARTISTS 

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SAY'S POLITICAL ECONOIVIY. 



A TREATISE ON POLITICAL ECONOMY; 
Or, The Production, Distribution and Consumption of Wealth. 

BIT JBiil?. B-aPTISTlS BM.^. 

FIFTH AMERICAN" EDITION, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES, ' 

BY C. C. BIDDLE, Esq. 

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It would be beneficial to our country if all those who are aspiring to oflBLce, were required by their 
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The distinguished biographer of the author, in noticing this work, observes : " Happily for scienco 
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The Editor of the North American Review, speaking of Say, observes, that " he is the most 
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LAURENCE STERNE'S WORKS, 

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WHAT IS CHURCH HISTORY? 

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(BmB ftm \^t larnh Mine; 

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HAW-HO-NOO; 

OR, THE RECORDS OP A TOURIST. 

BY CHARLES LAKMAN, 
Author of " A Summer in the Wilderness," &c In one volume, 12mo. 
•* In the present book, 'Haw-ho-noo,' (an Indian name, by the way, for America,) the author hna 
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In a supplement arc gnthered many curious Indian legends. They are related with great simplicity 
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jjuit« betiv*ii\il'" — Ni7fioncl Intelligencer. 

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LONZ POWERS; Or, The Regulators. 

A ROMANCE OF KENTUCKY, 

FOUNDED ON FACTS. 
BY JAI^ES VJ-Ein, ESQ. 

IN TWO VOLUMES. 
The scenes, characters, and incidents in these volumes have been copied from nature, and frosa 
real life. They are represented as taking place at that period in the history of Kentucky, when 
the Indian, driven, after many a hard -fought field, from his favourite hunting-ground, was succeeded 
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less savage than the. red men they had displaced. The author possesses a vigorous and graphic 
pen, and has produced a very interesting romance, which gives us a striking portrait of the times 
he describes. 

THE WESTEEM liEECHAHT. 

A NARRATIVE, 

C5ontaining useful Instruction for the Western Man of Business, who makes his Purchases in the 
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BY LUKE SHORTFIELD, A WESTBHN MEROHANT. 

One volume, 12mo. 

This is a new work, and will be found very interesting to the Country Merchant, <kc. &c. 

A sprightly, pleasant book, with a vast amount of information in a very agreeable shape. Biwl- 
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The "moral" of the work is summed up in the following concluding sentences: "Adhere stead- 
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A MAINUAL OF POLITENESS, 

COMFRISINQ THE 

PRINCIPLES OF ETIQUETTE AND RULES OF BEHAVIOUR 

IN GENTEEL SOCIETY, FOR PERSONS OF BOTH SEXES. 

18mo., with Plates. 



Book of Politeness. 

THE GENTLEMAN AND LADY'S 

BOOK OF POLITENESS AND PROPRIETY OF DEP0RTi\1ENl 

DEDICATED TO THE YOUTH OF BOTH SEXES. 
BY IVEADAIWrE CEI4HART. 

Translated from the Sixth Paris Edition, Enlarged and Improved 
Fiftli American Edition. 
One volume, 18mo. 

THE ANTEDILUVIANS; Or, The World Destroyed. 

A NARRATIVE POEM, IN TEN BOOKS. 

BY JAMES M'HENRY, M.D. 

One volume, 18mo 

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Bennett's (Rev. John) Letters to a Young Lady, 

ON A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS CALCULATED TO IMPROVE THE HEART 
TO FORiVI THE MANNERS, AND ENLIGHTEN THE UNDERSTANDING. * 

"That our daughters may be as pobshed corners of the temple." 

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ITfrZtC^t l" '"^:;r 'r'^'^^^^^ ^- ^^« --try ; and the .u.lS^^Z'ZV^ 

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COxXTAINIxNG ALSO A COMPLETE TREATISE Ox\ THE ART OF CARVINa. 

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SENECA'S MORALS. 

BY WAY OF ABSTRACT TO WHICH IS ADDED. A DISCOURSE UNDER 
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BY SIR ROGE R L'ESTRA NGE, KNT. 

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any indelicate or improper allusions; and with great propriety it may claun the title of - The Pari 
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" The man that hath not music in himself, 
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, 
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils." 

KOBOTHAM'S POCKET FRENCH DICTIONARY, 

CAREFULLY REVISED, 
AND THE PRONUNCIATION OP ALL THE DIFFICULT WORDS ADDED 
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JHE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTRAM SHANDY, GENTLEMAN. 

COMPRISING THE HUMOROUS ADVENTURES OF 

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' Beautifully Illustrated by Barley. Stitclied* 

A sentimentTl joueney. 

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The beauties of this author are so well known, and his errors in style and expression so few and 
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THE LIFE OF GENERAL JACKSON, 

WlXn A LIKENESS OF THE OLD HERO. 
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CAIflP LIFE OF A VOLUNTEER. 

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